The Bonds of Friendship
by crankyman7
Summary: When a vacation on the internet goes awry, Vanellope is trapped alone in a cutthroat world where one wrong move means death- or worse. While her friends mount a daring rescue, she must endure a battle for her soul- and time is rapidly running out.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note- November 14th, 2018  
**

Some may be curious whether this story was inspired by the soon to be released sequel movie. The answer is that it was not. I'd already introduced the internet as a setting in my _Wreck-It Ralph_ fanfics back in 2013, and this story has been in development since 2014, before we knew the sequel would even be made, let alone what it would be about. This fic is set in my previously established continuity [and functions as a sequel to my earlier stories], and like those fics, it should be considered part of an AU where only the first movie happened. With that being said, I hope you enjoy the story.

* * *

 **Prologue:**

 **The Last Two Members of the Council**

 _November, 2016_

In an obscure, darkened corner of the internet, two figures crouched in the shadows of a corridor. One, an armored figure named Leroy, faced one direction. The other, a black-garbed ninja known only as "The Master", faced the other direction. After scanning for threats, they ducked into the wall beside them, passing through it into an unclaimed domain name.

It had been nearly two months since the attack on SANG's headquarters, and almost three since their leader, Portia DeMille, had set out with two of the council members -Bruce and Frosty- and the bulk of their army for Litwak's Arcade. They had never returned. All communication had been lost in late September, and there was no chance to reestablish it; within a week, the Iron Wolves had struck.

None of the members of the council had been expecting an attack. They had seen the Iron Wolves before, but never in significant numbers, and seldom outside their own game. The wolves had always ignored them. They had never seen the pale, dark-haired man in the white suit who led the wolves' attack. Agent after agent he had slain, in a bloodbath that went the attackers' way right from the start. Only they and one other had escaped- their Chief of Propaganda, Gale. Gale had disappeared soon after, leading the wolves away in a desperate effort to allow his comrades time to escape. They hadn't seen him since.

Now, alone, in hiding on the Dark Web, constantly on the move for fear of being discovered, Leroy and The Master had acclimated themselves to the truth: the Society for the Advancement of New Games was no more.

Remembering this fact as he entered the darkened husk of a room, Leroy frowned. He had committed his whole life to the organization. With SANG gone, there was no major group left on the internet to carry the torch for their progressive ideals. What was worse than the wolves' attack, however, was the realization that Portia had failed, and all their brothers and sisters had died.

True, he hadn't seen it happen; he had no way to confirm it. But somehow, he knew it in the very depths of his code. They had all perished. And it had been at the hands of those cursed, inferior arcade sprites.

"Dirty sons of glitches!" he swore under his breath. "If I could just get even with them-"

But it would be years before he would have even a ghost of a chance at that. There were just he and The Master left now.

Leroy took in the half-formed walls, dimly lit archways, and dusty floor panels that made up the unclaimed domain name. It looked as though it'd lain dormant for several years. Broken cobwebs hung from the ceiling, swaying gently in the breeze that emanated from the furthest opening.

"So what _is_ this place?" Leroy asked quietly. The Master turned to look at him.

"The only place left to hide. The humans once knew it as a place to buy and sell…illegal substances. Seems the government didn't like that. Out there, in the human world, only the government can access this place anymore; they seized total control from other humans. But us- we can just waltz on in."

"Well, so can other game characters, then," Leroy snapped.

"Sure they could," The Master replied. "They could- if they knew how to find it. Few ever knew when the site was live. And the ones who did- well, they'd have to be either crazy or desperate to have come."

"Desperate like us?" Leroy scoffed. "If that white-suited degenerate knows where it is, he'll come."

"I must've forgotten to mention _why_ nobody comes here anymore," said The Master. "Word is, the place is haunted now."

"Haunted?"

"Yeah, haunted. The fools. Actually believing in something so stupid. But it'll save our hides. Anyone who'd think to look here wouldn't dare come in the first place. And even if they did- well, it's a million to one they'd ever find the place."

The two characters headed slowly forward, further into the domain.

"You know your way around still?" Leroy asked.

"Sure," his companion said. "The place might be a broken down wreck, but the layout's the same, more or less. It always is. Give me a bit of time, I'll have the place figured out. Then we can plan our next move."

"Just figure it out fast, will you?" Leroy muttered. "I don't know this place at all."

They passed through one archway, and then another, into a large, darkened chamber lit only by a dim glow emanating from the floor, allowing them to see a mere meter in any direction. Here, they paused while The Master quietly observed, trying to get his bearings.

"Main page, About Section…this must've been the first exhibition hall."

Leroy observed him for a moment, before asking: "Why'd you ever come to this place anyway?"

"Humans aren't the only ones who try to expand their minds."

He couldn't see The Master's grin behind his head coverings -only his eyes were visible- but he knew him well enough to know that the ninja was grinning. Shaking his head, Leroy looked away in disgust.

At that moment, there was a skittering sound. Startled, Leroy turned back towards his companion.

The Master had vanished.

Alarmed, Leroy drew his battle axe from the sling at his back and held it at the ready.

"Hey, man," he said. "Where are you?"

There was no answer, but the skittering sound returned.

"Master, this isn't funny," Leroy said, louder this time. "Where are you?" Again, there was no answer. He hurried forward several meters, before nearly tripping over something on the ground.

It was The Master. His eyes were wide open, registering shock. A gaping hole was in his chest. But rather than blood, the wound leaked…nothing.

Leroy knelt beside The Master. He grabbed his companion's arm. There was no response. He gripped harder, and the skin crumpled like newspaper, as though it no longer contained anything at all within.

With a cry of horror, Leroy released the corpse from his grasp. He raised his battle axe, just as the skittering sound returned…and as a sharp, bladed object pierced him clean through the armor protecting his stomach. The last thing he saw before death claimed him would have caused him to scream in sheer terror- if only he had had a voice left to scream with.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One:**

 **A Decade of Memories**

 _November, 2022_

In the wires of Wilberforce, Kansas, it crept forward cautiously.

It knew it was far too small to be seen. It would arrive at its destination with ease. But still, it wanted to be careful. It had chosen an unusual destination, one that its master hadn't necessarily had in mind. It knew that he would be pleasantly surprised if it went there and all the more so if it succeeded. Even so, it was a risk.

It was a risk worth taking, though. As the saying went, "nothing ventured, nothing gained."

* * *

In Ralph's dreams, he was falling again.

He knew how it would end. It would end as it had that night, when Vanellope had driven Crumbelina's kart into Diet Cola Mountain, saving him from the fiery fate to which he had resigned himself. It was not that which occupied his subconscious, however, that night. It was the cookie medal that hung about his chest.

 _If that little kid likes me, how bad can I be?_

Ralph's eyes snapped open. He sat up, remembering his words from the Bad-Anon meeting.

"Ten years," he said to himself.

Slowly, he clambered out of bed and headed towards the opposite wall. Several items were hanging there. Mostly, they were odds and ends. A few were pictures drawn by Vanellope von Schweetz. They were terrible -the kid had never been a good sketcher- but he treasured them regardless because of who had made them.

The cookie medal rested on a peg in the center of it all. Ralph gazed at it with no small measure of tenderness.

 _I've had a good decade. Made good friends, had a bunch of adventures- yeah, a good decade._

It hadn't been without its ups and downs, of course. There had been trials, tribulations, tragedies. From the tangle with Dr. Despair, to the invasion of SANG, to the harrowing trip to the internet and beyond, Ralph and his friends had faced multiple threats. Always, they had come out on top, but sometimes, it was a narrow thing.

It was Vanellope who had truly been tested by fire, however. From gamer hate to a series of increasingly deadly and despicable characters, the universe had seemingly tried its hardest to break the little kid's spirit. Ralph had done what he could for her at every step of the way, from being her emotional support to literally fighting for her life. In the process, their relationship had deepened, perhaps shifted. In a way, he now felt almost as much her father as her friend.

Yet for all that, the hard choices had been hers to make. It wasn't Ralph who had wrestled with all those demons- it was Vanellope. At the cost of her many scars, mental and physical, she had worked hard to better herself, to nurture the kindness and empathy that had kept her from the depths of nihilism in the fifteen years of lonely misery before they had met. Now, gentler and wiser, if no less winsome and excitable, Vanellope's heart glowed more brightly than ever. And Ralph was proud of her for it.

Turning away from the wall of memorabilia, Ralph glanced out at his window. The arcade was still dark. It would be another hour before opening time.

 _She'll still be asleep right now. Bless her, she wore herself out today. Again. What a kid._ Ralph smiled softly. _What a decade._

* * *

In Vanellope's dreams, she was safe and warm.

She rarely had nightmares anymore. She had memories, both dark and light, interweaving in a melody- sometimes discordant, but always ending softly. She knew how the pain had ended, that her friends had helped her to endure. To be sure, a part of her still longed for more adventure and excitement. But that longing was very much tempered by the comfort her life in the arcade provided- a comfort borne of bitter experience. If she had ever been tempted to take her friendships for granted, she couldn't imagine doing so now. Not after nearly losing everything.

Vanellope's eyelids fluttered open. She sat up, rubbed her eyes, and glanced about.

It was still dark outside her window. Another hour at least until the arcade would open. She hadn't expected to wake up for another half an hour at least; the preceding day had been particularly active, with _Sugar Rush_ getting more traffic than it had in over a year- and with her on the roster. Chosen at least fifteen times that day, she had won some races and lost others. The tracks were familiar by now, but she didn't mind. It was the sheer joy of racing itself, together with the happiness of the gamers, that made her gun the engine every time. Vanellope loved her game.

Even more than racing, however, Vanellope loved her friends. And while playing favorites gave her the tiniest twinge of guilt, she had to admit it- she loved Ralph most of all.

Looking back over the past decade, she was more grateful than ever for his selflessness. Once upon a time, he had been a self-centered character. But not anymore- not with her. He'd saved her life more than once, given of his time, his experience, all without prompting. True, he had a temper sometimes. But with her, it never lasted long.

 _He gave me everything- a home, a future, friendship. He knew when to push, and when to give me space. Without Ralph, I would never have made it this far._

Vanellope pushed the covers aside and slid out of her bed. She gazed about the bedroom, taking in the shelves, the mirror, the displays, the cabinet of memorabilia. All of it so comforting, so familiar.

 _I have a good life. I hope it never changes._

* * *

It reached a turn in the wire, headed around the curve, and stopped. Ahead was its destination. It knew better than to go in now. Better to wait until twelve hours later, when everyone would be milling about, and the watchful guardian would be too distracted to detect it. Then it could observe carefully and decide whom to enter.

After all, it paid to be careful when venturing into Litwak's Arcade.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two:**

 **Entrance**

Vanellope hadn't been chosen by her game as one of the avatars for that day, which left her to watch, and hand out trophies to the winning racers. She didn't mind that. There would always be another day when she could race. What she did mind was the frilly pink dress.

Oh sure, she didn't mind it badly enough to violate the programming by not wearing it for the cutscene. But she didn't have to enjoy it. It was hot, stuffy, and uncomfortable, and it made her feel stiff and restricted. Vanellope liked cute things, but this dress was _so_ not cute.

Though he never said it explicitly, she just knew that Sour Bill disagreed. The only time the dour cough drop laughed even a little was when she wore it. Even in the cutscene, he couldn't help but smirk. She'd long ago learned to ignore it and him for the duration of the scene. It was only when the camera had swooped away that she would sigh, tug at the collar, and shift her limbs as much as she could- and occasionally shoot the cough drop a little glare if he chuckled too loudly.

This time, after the last winning racer of the day -Taffyta Muttonfudge, in this case- had received her trophy, Sour Bill actually spoke when the camera had left them.

"It's not the dress, Vanellope," he said. "It's you. If you actually liked the thing, it wouldn't be so funny."

"Yeah, well you try wearing this thing," Vanellope snapped, not looking at him.

"Who says I haven't?" Sour Bill replied.

Vanellope turned towards him abruptly, giving him a stunned look.

"When did _you_ try it on?" she exclaimed.

Sour Bill grinned, but said nothing.

"Fine, have it your way," Vanellope said, turning away as the lights overheard dimmed slightly, signaling closing time.

* * *

Vanellope changed out of the dress as soon as she got back to the castle. Selecting her usual garb, she put it on. This time, however, she left aside the turquoise hoodie, choosing instead to wear only her violet-colored shirt over her torso.

Hurrying out of the castle and across the plains, she entered Game Central Station panting for breath. The Surge Protector saw her. Giving her a nod of acknowledgement, he wrote briefly on his checklist, and gestured for her to proceed. He already knew where she was heading, just as she did: _Fix It Felix Jr._

Vanellope didn't spend every day with Ralph, but the tenth anniversary of their friendship was not something she would miss for the world.

She arrived to find Ralph talking with Mr. Johnson through the screen. The current arcade owner was listening more than he was talking, as he often did. He wasn't as chatty as Mr. Litwak had been on the job, but he was no less kind.

As Vanellope arrived beside Ralph, Mr. Johnson glanced briefly in her direction. "Hey Vanellope," he said. "Going okay?"

"Splendid, thank you!" Vanellope said, bowing exaggeratedly. Ralph quickly seized the opportunity to tip her over with his index finger. She landed face-first in the mud.

"Yech!" Vanellope said, clambering to her knees and clawing the mud from her face. "What was _that_ for?"

"I just felt like it," said Ralph.

Mr. Johnson chuckled. "I'll leave you two to go at it for another night," he said. "See you in the morning."

As the arcade owner left, Vanellope looked herself up and down. "You trying to make me as filthy as you?"

"No, not really," Ralph said. "Though mud baths can be kind of fun."

Vanellope cocked her head. "Oh _really_?" Quickly, she seized a handful of mud and flung it at Ralph. Within moments, he had reciprocated- and then she had, and he had done it again…

* * *

Half an hour later, Ralph and Vanellope, now mud-free, were resting on the couch in Ralph's apartment.

"Long time, huh?" Vanellope said.

Ralph nodded. "Uh-huh."

"Ten years. Feels like a lifetime."

"Wait till you're forty," Ralph quipped. "You'll feel _real_ old."

"I'm _nine_ , silly!"

"Sure, you'll always be a kid," said Ralph. "But _Sugar Rush_ was plugged in around…oh, 1997? You could call yourself twenty-five, in a way."

"Twenty-five, huh?" Vanellope grinned cheekily. "So that means I was a bratty teen when we met!"

"Guess so."

They sat quietly for several minutes.

"Hey Ralph?" Vanellope said, shattering the silence.

"Yeah?"

"You ever want a change of pace?"

Ralph turned to look at her. "What do you mean?"

"I love it, living here with all my friends- with you. I don't want that to stop. It's just…a part of me would love another adventure sometime."

"Remember what Mr. Litwak said," Ralph replied. "All of life's an adventure."

"Yeah, but you know what I mean. Something exciting, fresh. Making new memories to take back here."

"To take them back here, you'd have to leave here," Ralph said. "That's always a risk. I don't know if Mr. Johnson would ever allow it."

"Mr. Litwak also said you don't grow or learn without taking risks."

"There's more than one kind of risk, kid."

"I think I could chance anything, Ralph, as long as I've got you."

Ralph smiled. "Well, there's the week and a half at the end of the month when the arcade'll be closed. I'll talk to him soon about where he'd let us go. I can't promise he'll agree, but it won't hurt to ask."

* * *

It had entered Game Central Station an hour after closing time, when the crowds were at their thickest. It hugged the wall, scanning characters one by one.

There were a few possibilities- perhaps the Centipede? Or maybe a space marine? Or maybe-

It lost its train of thought, distracted by the arrival of a cutesy, dark-haired kid in a skirt, striped leggings, boots, and a violet shirt. It scanned her- and became instantly alert.

There was something different about this one. The others' code strands had been solid, whole. But this girl- could it be?

It watched as the girl half-vanished in a shower of blue sparks, only to rematerialize a few feet further along her path.

Curious, it scanned her again. Sure enough, there it was- a tiny, minuscule tear in her coding. Not enough to confine her to her game of origin, but just enough to give her the necessary instability to be able to glitch about. Which meant that she was indeed the one.

Blessing its unexpectedly good luck, delighted with its find, it set out rapidly after Vanellope von Schweetz.

* * *

Vanellope entered the wire to _Sugar Rush_ blissfully unaware of the tiny, microscopic entity that followed her. She never sensed it land at the base of her neck, enter her skin, and burrow its way into her code.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three:**

 **Vanellope's Idea**

It could have acted at any time. However, it had chosen to lay dormant for nearly two weeks. It knew her thoughts, though she did not sense it at all. And it realized that if Vanellope's expectations proved correct, the time to act would be soon. Very soon.

* * *

There were three days to go until the arcade closed for the employees' vacation. The arcade had closed for the night, and Vanellope was getting ready for an evening with the other racers- and with a guest.

As if on cue, the castle gates were thrust open, revealing a lanky man in a harlequin suit. The racers clustered around him excitedly, chattering repeatedly. He smiled, holding up his hands.

"One at a time," he pleaded. "You're all just a cacophony of noise right now."

Only Vanellope had held back from the visitor. She grinned at the sight of her friends crowding and jostling him. When he spoke, however, she said: "Alright fellas, back it up. Give him space."

The racers quieted down and stepped away. The man did a little hop-skip, and bowed in Vanellope's direction, one hand over his heart.

"As requested, my lady- my presence."

Vanellope's grin broadened. "It's good to see you too, Gale. Glad you answered on that thing."

Gale held up an index finger. "A cell-phone," he said. "I thought we went over this last time?"

"I'll get it eventually," Vanellope replied. "Ready to race?"

"As ever, I'm at your service," said Gale. He glanced over at Jubileena, whose eyes had gone big at the sight of him. "Well, if you'll indulge me, I'll ride you with you tonight, ma'am," he said.

At this, Jubileena blushed so furiously that her face turned almost as red as her cherry-colored helmet.

* * *

The amount of fun the racers had with Gale in the next hour was immense. Looking at them, one might never have guessed that he had been their mortal enemy once.

Gale had not accompanied Portia to Litwak's Arcade during the invasion over six years before. As such, his former involvement with SANG had remained unknown in the arcade until Vanellope, Ralph, Sergeant Calhoun, and Gene had met him on the internet while looking for a missing Fix-It Felix Jr. By the time they had met him, Gale had changed dramatically. Helping them to find Felix, even saving their lives, he had done his utmost to atone for his years of murder and prejudice. They had forgiven him in the end, even saved him from Portia's misguided, shapeshifting brother Darien, whose fanatical vision of justice had blinded him to any thought of mercy. It had been an emotionally rattling experience for all involved, however, and it was not until more than five years later that Gale had dared to try and meet his rescuers a second time.

By then, the arcade characters had been more than willing to forgive him. Trust took time to build, however, and it was only recently that Gale's visits to the arcade had become more frequent. He was fortunate that the racers had taken to him so quickly. Then again, he _had_ made it easy for them. He'd long been a fan of racing and sweets, which made their home a delight every time he visited.

Now, perched on a jawbreaker, Gale surveyed the eager, excited faces before him: Adorabeezle, Sticky, Rancis, Candlehead, Swizzle, and the rest. He was preparing to regale them with further tales of the vast digital world he came from.

"So," he said, "we left off at Youtube, I believe?" The racers nodded in unison.

"Well," said Gale, placing his hands on the knees of his crossed legs and leaning forward. "You all know what a cutscene is. And you know what a human is, too. Imagine if a human made a…cutscene of sorts, only of themselves doing something. Then they put it up for other humans to watch."

"Humans doing that?" Adorabeezle's tone was skeptical. "Why would they do that? They don't live in games."

"Actually- but no, we'll come back to that." Gale shrugged. "Truthfully, different humans have different reasons for doing it. But it's a way for them to share all sorts of things."

"You see every video?" Rancis asked him.

Gale's face reddened slightly. "Well, er…no, that wouldn't be a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Uh…well, you're kids, so I can't really say. Just trust me, you wouldn't want to."

"Oh," Rancis said.

Taffyta spat out the lollipop she was sucking on. "You were going to come back to something?"

"Oh, yes, Adorabeezle's question." Gale looked at the racer in question. "Actually, humans do -and don't- live in games."

Adorabeezle gave him a quizzical look. "They do and don't? What do you mean?"

"Well, there's something called a Massive Multiplayer Online Game, or MMO for short. We've a bunch of them on the net. They interact with NPCs by controlling puppets of sorts as their avatars. Not quite characters like us- more like lifeless skins that they use to walk around the games. They control the skins from outside the digital world. It's kind of like them seeing us through the eyes of a probe."

"Sounds kind of creepy," said Candlehead.

"I'm told the characters are used to it."

"But don't they know the characters are alive, the way our owner knows about us?" Adorabeezle asked. "I mean, if they can talk directly with the characters-"

Gale held up his hands. "Oh no, oh no," he said. "The NPCs stick to the programming when the humans wander by."

"But how do they get any time off, if the humans are always around?"

"Remember what I told you about us internet game characters. With multiple copies of a game in existence, we can leave only one, and the other copies of ourselves remain confined to their own copies. Except they're not other versions of us- they _are_ us. We share one mind with all of our other selves, and we just let them fulfill their duties while our main forms go where we will."

"But what if you die outside your game?" Swizzle inquired.

"As long as it happens on the net, another copy will become our main body. Dying off the net leaves those copies as hollow, lifeless bits of programming that fulfill their assigned duties like automatons. But internet characters usually don't leave the web, so…"

"But you're risking your life coming here, then!" Candlehead exclaimed.

"Every copy of my game is gone from the net," Gale replied. "I thought I'd told you that. I live in an old web page from 1999."

Candlehead sighed with relief. "I'd forgotten that. But you're fine now."

"Of course, it's still a risk. I'll still die forever if I die outside the internet, or if my code gets deleted from the site and _then_ I die."

Candleheard started, and Gale laughed gently. "Look, I highly doubt that one of you is going to kill me. I'm safer here than I'd be even on some parts of the internet."

"You make it sound like such a good place, though," Rancis said.

"That's because I just tell you about the nice parts," Gale replied. "The internet is vaster than you can possibly imagine, and there's a lot of it that you shouldn't ever visit. A lot of those places are just creepy because the humans post bad, nasty things. But some of it would threaten your very life."

"Like that unclaimed domain name?" Vanellope asked, shuddering briefly at the memory.

"We can die in those even if we're coded into a webpage," said Gale. "There are still other ways to die, too, and some places many times worse than those empty husks." He paused, seeing that the racers were looking extremely concerned.

"Ah, enough nasty talk," he said. "We should be joyful today. What do we do next?"

He was greeted by a chorus of voices, some crying one thing, some another.

"One at a time, one at a time!" Gale said, laughing. The chattering ceased as Gale realized that Jubileena had climbed onto his lap and was staring at him with wide eyes.

"You first," Gale told her.

* * *

Gale left the arcade when the night was halfway old, promising to visit again soon. Vanellope saw him off, with Ralph beside her. When he had gone, she turned to her friend.

"You had that talk with Mr. Johnson yet?"

"No time," Ralph said. "He's been really busy. I'll try to after the next workday's over."

"Ask him if we can go the internet."


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four:**

 **Vacation**

Ralph turned to look at Vanellope. "The internet?" he asked. "You _want_ to go back there?"

"We stick with Gale, we'd be okay," Vanellope insisted. "You, me, the racers- Otis and Floyd, too, if they'll come."

"Well, you know those ping pong paddles will go anywhere as insane as them," said Ralph. "But still- we both almost died the last time we went. You really wanna go back?"

"Not to see the _whole_ place," said Vanellope. "Just wherever Gale says is okay."

At that moment, the Surge Protector materialized beside them. "Look," Surge began, "it's not that I don't trust your friend, but it'd be _eighteen_ of you. You know I can't allow that."

* * *

"That's an interesting idea," said Mr. Johnson. "I think I'll allow it."

"Yes!" Vanellope turned an impromptu cartwheel.

Mr. Johnson smiled gently at her enthusiasm, before adding: "but _only_ under certain conditions."

Vanellope glitched atop Ralph's shoulder. Peering up through the screen of _Fix-It Felix Jr._ , she said: "What?"

"Now Vanellope," Mr. Johnson said, "I like your internet friend. He's weird, but I like him. Do you think you he can get more sprite cell-phones for each and every one of you, plus ones for Calhoun and Felix, so you can reach the arcade if necessary?"

"I can ask him," said Vanellope. "I bet he can."

"Do that," said Mr. Johnson. " _If_ he can get that many, then you all can go. But _only_ for twenty-four hours. And you all _have_ to stay with Gale at all times." He gave Vanellope a firm look. "I'm trusting him, and I'm trusting you. Don't let me down."

"Wouldn't dream of it," said Vanellope. She crossed her finger over her heart, before leaping off of Ralph's shoulder. "Gotta go tell everyone the good news!" she shouted as she ran off.

Ralph watched her go, before turning back to the arcade owner.

"Not sure why you're okay with this," he said. "We die, our games go down."

"That's true, Ralph," Mr. Johnson replied. "And if it were up to me, I'd have said no."

"I thought it _was_ up to you."

"Well…not exactly. I've been talking to Stan."

"Mr. Litwak?" Ralph exclaimed. "How's he doing?"

"Older, slower, but no less himself." Mr. Johnson smiled briefly to himself, before continuing. "Anyways, you already know I've talked to Vanellope a fair bit. And I keep old Stan up to speed on this place, so he knows about Gale's visits. He actually wondered recently if a trip would be good for her. Even suggested the web himself."

"You told him it was risky, right?"

"I did, and you know what he said?"

Ralph chuckled. "Let me guess: what's life without a little risk?"

"Bingo," said Mr. Johnson. "I can't say no to Stan, even if it's against my better judgement. Which is why I'm also counting on _you_ , Ralph. Keep those kids safe."

"I'd guard them with my life, you know that," Ralph said. "So would Otis and Floyd."

Mr. Johnson frowned. "I hope it doesn't come to that." His expression relaxed. "But then, I think you all have earned my trust by now. Stay on the safe parts of the net, be back in a day, and everything will be fine."

As Ralph turned to leave, Mr. Johnson gestured for him to stop. "Wait a moment."

"Yeah?" Ralph said, turning back to face him.

"I'll be taking one more precaution. You can reach Felix and Calhoun if anything happens, but they'll need a way to reach me. I'm going to leave my spare laptop plugged into Surge over the break. Never mind the how, but I know a way he can…send me a message, if anything happens. He'll know it too, the moment I plug it in. He's a smart guy."

"Wow, didn't know you could have him do that," Ralph said. "That's amazing. I'll tell him you'll be doing that."

"Oh, I think he heard me, but you can remind him." Mr. Johnson turned to go. "Two more days until this happens, Ralph," he said. "Keep them safe." Then he was gone, out of Ralph's sight.

* * *

Vanellope reached Gale that night, who agreed to provide as many phones as needed, and after the next work day, they'd confirmed everything with Mr. Johnson. The trip to the internet would proceed.

"I still can't believe it's really happening," said Jubileena, as the racers gathered in the castle's great hall. "We're going to the internet!"

"Surge didn't seem happy about it," Taffyta noted.

"He always listens to Mr. Johnson, though," said Rancis. "Anyways, as long as we all stay with Gale, we'll be fine."

"Which means no doing anything stupid," said Taffyta. "Got it, Gloyd?"

The pumpkin-hatted racer held up his hands. "Hey, take it easy. I'm not planning anything." He smirked. "This time."

Vanellope laughed briefly at Taffyta's exasperated sigh, before looking suddenly serious. "Really, though, Gloyd. If Gale's says no, that'll mean no. We can't take any risks."

"Of course not," Gloyd replied. "Gotta keep Rancis's face handsome, right?"

"Yeah, of course," Rancis said dreamily, gazing into a hand-held mirror. Then, abruptly, he lowered the mirror. "Hey!"

"You gotta admit you had it coming," said Candlehead.

"Guess you're right," Rancis replied. "Besides," he added, flicking a curl of his hair, "he's not wrong."

Taffyta rolled her eyes, prompting another small laugh from Vanellope.

At that moment, an ethereal voice echoed throughout the hall. "Dinner is here!" it said. Vanellope glitched into the air in surprise, before landing on her rear several feet away from the table.

"Ow, my butt!" she exclaimed, standing up and rubbing her rear as the two _Pong_ paddles floated into view, pushing large wheeled trays loaded with food. She glared in their direction. "Otis?"

If Otis had possessed shoulders, she was sure he would have shrugged.

"What can we say, kid?" Floyd said in his lively, snarky voice. "You make it _way_ too easy for us."

Vanellope's glare rapidly transformed into a grin. "Yeah, I guess I do."

* * *

It was quite satisfied with how things were going. Vanellope had asked to return to the internet, just as it had known she would. The real surprise, however, had been the arcade owner's assent. It had figured it might have to use a little…persuasion. But in the end, none had been needed. Vanellope had done exactly as it had hoped, with no prompting required, and in a little more than a day, she would carry it back to the internet unwittingly. And then, as soon as the moment came…it would begin.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five:**

 **The Wonderful World of the Internet**

Gale arrived that night to deliver the cell-phones. "Already set everything up," he said. "You all have each other's numbers." He stopped Gloyd, who was about to toss his phone into the air, with a glare. "These aren't toys, so don't drop 'em," he said. Then, gazing back towards the wire that led out of the arcade, he added to himself, "Even if a lot of humans treat them like toys."

"So where'd you get 'em?" Sergeant Calhoun asked, examining hers carefully. "They don't look of console make."

"I know a guy who knows a guy who works in an MMO. He got them by duplicating the code and making extras. They need a steady supply in-game anyway, since they often break in game when avatars get smashed around."

"You'd think the humans would take better care of their things," Felix said, "even if it they're just bits and bytes."

"Yeah, well, half the fun in _Joys of Suburbia_ is going postal," said Gale.

"Going postal?" Candlehead asked. "What's that?"

Gale opened his mouth to reply, but Sergeant Calhoun quickly held up a cautionary hand. "No, don't tell her!"

"Why not?" Candlehead asked.

Gale smiled. "No, the Sarge is right. You really don't want to know."

* * *

Shortly after the arcade closed the next night, Gale met Otis, Floyd, Ralph, Vanellope, and the assembled racers at the wire entrance that led out of Game Central Station.

"Now, there are a lot of you," he said, surveying the assembled crowd of characters. "While I've no intention of leading you into any danger, I obviously can't keep an eye on all of you at once. So Ralph, Otis, Floyd- I'm asking you guys to be the other adults here."

"Us? Act like adults?" Otis's voice was deadpan. Gale gave him a sharp glance.

"Meaning, sure, sure, of course we will," Floyd assured Gale. "Right, Otis?"

"Yeah, we will."

Gale relaxed. "I'm still getting used to your…ahem…sense of humor. No faces and all that."

"I know," said Floyd. "That's half the fun."

"Anyway," said Ralph, "you can count on us." He surveyed the racers. "And we can count on you to listen, right guys?"

"Sure you can," said Taffyta. She gave Gloyd a sharp kick. "Can't they?"

"Right, right, of course!" Gloyd said, offering an awkward grin.

"Great, then let's go," said Gale. "Follow me, please, and stay close together."

* * *

From her perch atop one of Ralph's massive shoulders, Vanellope observed the path they followed to the arcade's modem. Although it had been nearly six years since she had last passed this way, the route was seared into her mind. Even if the scorch marks and boot prints they had followed last time had long ago faded, she would still have remembered it. Last time, it had made her nervous. This time, it filled her with wonder.

"How do humans make these?" she asked Ralph.

"I don't know," Ralph replied. "How do they make us?"

"Might as well ask why we're alive," Vanellope said. She shrugged. "I've often wondered."

"I don't know if we'll ever know why," Ralph said. "Maybe if we pass on, we'd find out."

"Ralph!" Vanellope said crossly. "Not funny."

"Hey, why would I go and die?" Ralph replied. "Life's too much fun."

Vanellope smiled. "With you around? Never a dull moment."

They turned a corner into a tall, narrow chamber with a portal at the far end- the interior of the modem. Gale held up his hand, bringing the crowd to a halt.

"Alright, it's perfectly safe to go through," he said, "Follow my lead. Once we're inside, I've prepared leaflets for our agenda, along with maps.' He patted the satchel at his side, before continuing.

'Now remember: the internet is like a mansion- a whole lot of corridors, staircases, and elevators, with rooms branching off every which way- websites. They're usually bigger on the inside than on the outside. Often much bigger. They also contain a lot of stuff inside. If you don't know what it is, ask me before you touch it."

Adorabeezle elbowed Gloyd. "Got it?"

"Hey!" Gloyd said. "Everyone stop picking on me!"

"Maybe if you'd stop deserving it, we would," Taffyta said, smirking.

At this, Gloyd chuckled. "You're right, I do. I totally do. But you gotta admit it's funny _sometimes_."

"Except when you don't clean up," Taffyta replied.

Gale gestured at the portal. "Shall we go?"

"Electric jello again!" Vanellope exclaimed. "Hooray!"

* * *

Once through the portal, Vanellope leaped down from Ralph's shoulder. The chamber was exactly as she remembered it- pure blue, save for the bright read letters reading: _Welcome to the Internet_. Corridors branched off into virtually every direction.

"Where is everyone?" Floyd asked. "Whole place looks empty."

"Oh, it's far from empty," said Gale. "But this is just an entrance. Most everyone hangs out in the websites themselves, or further away in the large halls of the interior."

"Looks like it'd take days to go all the way across this place," said Otis.

"Years, actually," said Gale.

"Astounding!" the paddle exclaimed in response. "And we only have a day!"

"Which is why we'll be using a short-cut," Gale said. He pointed at the corridor directly opposite the portal. "We're going all the way through that corridor until we reach a semi-circular hallway that all of these corridors reach. Then we take a right, and go through the first door on the left."

"What'll be in there?" Candlehead asked.

"Why Madame President," said Gale, "haven't I told you about search engines?"

* * *

The interior of the room in question contained a large, empty, circular frame with a control panel on a raised platform several feet away. Gale stepped over to the control panel, before typing in a certain phrase. The words " Dooku dot net" appeared above the frame, even as it filled with more of the shimmering, jelly-like substance that the modem's portal had contained.

"Go on in, all of you," Gale said, gesturing at the frame. "A little appetizer, before the main meal begins."

Everyone entered, with Gale bringing up the rear. Once inside, Vanellope saw that it was a single room consisting of bare, white walls, and a large screen that played a shoddy-quality looped clip of an old man on a hover bike. A button was below this, which she approached curiously.

"Go ahead, press it," said Gale. Vanellope did so, and a piece of music began playing. She did it again, and again- and each time, the music changed.

"Is there a point to this website?" she heard Ralph ask Gale.

"My dear Mr. Wrecker," Gale replied, "of course there isn't."

Vanellope turned to see their host grinning at Ralph's quizzical expression.

"Welcome back to the wonderful world of the internet, Ralph," said Gale.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six:**

 **Odd Feeling**

The day had been filled with wonders.

Gale's guided tour had consisted of trips to Wikipedia and Youtube, an exploration of memes, and more. He had even allowed them to research their own games' development history. There was only so much that could be done in the fifteen hours or so that had been allotted, however, and by the end, practically everyone had been left wanting more. Even Ralph had admitted to enjoying himself more than he had expected.

"Don't know if I got everything," he had said to Vanellope, "but there's a lot to like. The history lesson was great."

They had met several other game characters on the various websites, ranging from the quiet to the downright chatty. The racers did their best to behave- even Gloyd, who had failed to pull a single prank, though he had occasionally threatened to. When asked point blank by Adorabeezle why he was behaving so well, Gloyd had grinned and said: "I felt like subverting all y'alls expectations."

Now, perched on a stool in the homepage of Gale's website, Vanellope wiped the last crumbs of a cookie from her face and sighed contentedly. She gazed about at each of her friends in turn, a smile forming on her lips. She had wanted memories to take back to the arcade, and she certainly had them. Many of them were strange, to be sure, but at least they were unforgettable.

"Would've been nice to see more, but this was fun," she said.

"Always next year, kid," said Floyd, "if Mr. Johnson would okay it."

"You can tell him I'm always happy to help out," Gale said. "I mean, if it'd help to persuade him. It sure has been fun hosting you all."

"Eh, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it," said Ralph. "But you'll visit us again yourself, of course."

"Of course," said Gale. "What's my job, if not to brighten your nights from time to time?"

* * *

It had carefully observed the location of Gale's home. There was a hidden entrance close by, it knew- a new one, freshly prepared. It could get in that way. The question was whether the time to take her there was now. It decided to confer. The answer came quickly: it was time to execute stage one of the plan.

* * *

Vanellope was in the middle of chuckling at Gale's comment when she suddenly gasped and doubled over. All eyes turned to her.

"Vanellope!" Ralph exclaimed. "What's the matter?"

"I feel funny," she said. "Like- ah!"

A wave of pain and nausea swept over her. She glitched off of the stool. "I need to see something," she said- or heard herself say? It was her voice- but when had she formed the thought that elicited the comment?

"Vanellope?" Otis asked, floating towards her. "Did the cookie not agree with you?"

Vanellope glitched herself towards the door that led out of the website. She heard Ralph barreling after her, and tried to stop herself. She couldn't.

"Ralph!" she cried, shoving the door open. "What's happening to me?"

"No, no, stay behind, I'll get her!" she heard Ralph shouting. She tried to turn back, but it was as though her body were not her own. Exiting the website, she turned right down the hallway and kept on running.

* * *

Ralph hurried after Vanellope, Gale hard on his heels.

"Where is she heading?" Gale called after him.

Ralph glanced ahead. Vanellope was steering towards a dead end at the close of the corridor. "Straight for a cul-de-sac," he said.

"But there is no cul-de-sac up ahead," said Gale. "The corridor keeps going for miles!"

"Then explain that!" Ralph replied, pointing towards the blank wall, which Vanellope had almost reached.

"It wasn't there yesterday," said Gale.

Up ahead, Vanellope reached the wall- and passed right through it.

Ralph and Gale came to a stop in front of the wall.

"An unclaimed domain name?" Ralph asked.

"There wouldn't be an entrance to one in the _middle_ of a room or corridor," said Gale. He slammed a fist against the wall. His fist connected and made an echoing thud.

"What?" Ralph exclaimed. He slammed his own fist against the wall, with the exact same result.

"This is something else," said Gale. "Only she could pass through it." He pointed at a crack that had appeared in the wall after Ralph hit it. "But it seems like you could break it, maybe."

Without a word, Ralph raised both of his fists and brought them smashing down against the wall. It collapsed into rubble, revealing a large square frame filled with a sickly green substance that glowed with an unearthly light.

"A portal?"

Gale nodded. "A portal. A portal to an unholy place. We need to get Vanellope out of there right now."

"Then follow me!" Ralph cried, leaping into the portal.

* * *

The substance in the portal was thick and sticky, and Ralph almost felt as though he were swimming through molasses. At one point, he almost got stuck, but a sudden movement freed him from any entanglement.

He emerged into the middle of a darkened chamber with a vaulted ceiling. The only light came from what looked like gas lamps set in the various pillars that held up the roof. As Gale emerged from the portal behind him, Ralph glanced towards one pillar about fifteen feet away. Vanellope was crouched beside it, head down, her arms wrapped tightly around her chest. He hurried forward. At the sound of his approach, she raised her head.

"Ralph, somethings happening to me," she said. "I feel all…funny, woozy. I don't get it."

Ralph came to a stop beside her. "You sick?" he asked.

"Can an arcade game sprite even _get_ sick?" Gale asked, arriving beside Ralph.

"We can get injured, but…" Ralph's voice trailed off.

"Oh, my _code_ " Vanellope groaned. "My _code_!" And then her eyes briefly turned the same sickly green as the portal. The effect lasted for all of a second. But no sooner had they returned to normal than Vanellope was glitching upright, and then again towards the top of the pillar.

"Ralph, help me!" she shrieked as she glitched further and further from view. "I can't stop!"

Ralph was about to attempt to climb the pillar when he heard a sharp cracking sound. He glanced upwards in time to see a portion of the ceiling falling towards him. He had only a split second to shove Gale far out of the way, back towards the portal, before the debris struck him. It buried him totally.

 _No, need to help her too…what's happening? Ouch…_

Ralph's thoughts faded into incoherence as unconsciousness claimed him.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven:**

 **Dead**

Vanellope landed on the ground with a sharp thud, over twenty feet away from where she had started. She only barely managed to keep her feet. She bent over, panting heavily. The woozy feeling was gone, as if it had never been. But the effects-

Abruptly, she jerked herself upright and turned. The entirety of the path behind her was blocked from floor to ceiling with rubble. Several pillars had collapsed under the force of her repeated glitching, freeing the masonry.

 _But how did I-? I'm not that strong. Unless the pillars were already weakened? But then-?_

Her eyes widened.

"Ralph. Where's Ralph?"

She remembered him being below her when she had glitched into the air. Right below where the first chunk of ceiling had fallen. Which would mean-

"No!"

Vanellope slammed herself bodily into the rubble. "Move!" she shouted. "Move!" Again and again, she threw herself against the masonry, until she was rapidly exhausted. She tried glitching into it, but even that did nothing to budge the stone so much as an inch. She fell to her knees, catching herself from falling any further by pressing her hands against the rubble.

"Ralph!" she cried. "Ralphie! Buddy, you in there?"

There was no answer.

"Talk to me! Dang it, Ralph, talk to me!"

Still, there was no answer.

"Oh developers, no," she whispered. Then, more loudly: "Ralph! Please! Don't go!" She slumped further to the ground, curling into a fetal position.

"Don't go," she said, more quietly this time. "Don't leave me. Not like this."

The silence was oppressive.

"Not like this…"

She couldn't hold back the tears any longer. And she didn't care.

 _It's my fault. It's my own dang fault! My stupid glitching got him killed. I killed my best friend._

Vanellope wrapped her arms even more tightly around herself.

 _Your friends are your heart. Lose them and you'll break. There's no getting around it._

Those were the words King Candy had said to her in her nightmares nearly six years before. She hadn't forgotten them. Indeed, she'd clung to her friendships even more tightly since then. Felix, Sergeant Calhoun, the racers, Otis, Floyd, Ralph...

"Ralph…"

Vanellope trembled.

 _We got through how many threats? Turbo, the cybugs, Dr. Despair, Ainsworth, SANG, Darien- we survived them all together. Together. He was always there. And now_ I _kill him? What happened to me? What kind of a friend am I? Why did I lose control? Why?_

She uncurled, rolling flat onto her back, her arms resting limply at her sides.

 _I felt something weird when it was happening, but now- now I feel nothing. My code feels like it always has. But-_

 _No, I can't make excuses. Whatever happened, it's my fault. It's all my stupid fault. Stupid me! Stupid, stupid me!_

She turned her head, staring at the rubble, the tears rolling from her face onto the hard floor.

* * *

She lay there for a long, long time, staring dumbly at the wall of masonry. Finally, after what seemed like forever, she thought of her cell-phone.

 _Gale was out of the way, I'm sure. I can call him._

But, reaching into her pockets, she found that the phone was gone.

 _I must've dropped it as the ceiling fell. It's buried now._

She sat up.

 _What do I do now? How do I get back?_

Vanellope hit the rubble with her fist again, but with little force this time.

 _What would I even say? I killed Ralph with my clumsiness. What if I kill my other friends, too? I can't let that happen!_

 _But, painful as it is, I need to face them…right? Don't I need to own up?_

Slowly, wearily, Vanellope climbed to her feet. "First thing's first," she said. "I need to get out of here." She turned and gazed ahead into the chamber. The lamps adorning the columns provided just enough light to make the gloomy shadows beyond the archways look even more forbidding.

"The question is, where is 'here'?"

She cupped her hands over her mouth and called: "Hello? Anyone there?"

There was no answer, save for her own echo.

"I'm alone," she said.

Wiping away fresh tears, Vanellope went cautiously forward. Following the lamps, she went deeper into the chamber. After about five minutes, she tripped over a small object on the ground.

"Oof!" she exclaimed as she hit the floor. Clambering upright, she grabbed at the object. It was a big piece of chalk.

"Huh. I wonder who dropped this?"

Stuffing the chalk into her hoodie's pocket, Vanellope continued following the lamps. After ten minutes of walking, hearing nothing but her own footsteps, she reached an opening in the far wall. It was large- about fifteen feet tall and nearly as many wide, and it opened into another lamp-lit passageway that plunged straight ahead into a dark oblivion. At the edge of the opening, she hesitated. Then, remembering the chalk, she drew it from her pocket. Testing it against the wall, she scratched an arrow. It stood out sharply against the dark wall and the wan light of the lamps.

 _Have to be careful to make it last. But an arrow every so often will let me keep track of where I've come from._

She pocketed the chalk and kept walking.

* * *

In the depths of Vanellope's code, it rested.

It was immensely pleased with how things were going so far. The plan had gone off without a hitch. Everything, from the portal, to the columns, to sealing the path behind- everything had gone so well. But then, it did have the best helpers. And it already knew its master was pleased.

Most delicious of all, however, had been the tears. Agony, wretchedness, self-blame, despair- meat and drink. They had been exquisite. It couldn't wait to give its master a direct taste. Because it just _knew_ that its master would want more of them. Vanellope thought she had experienced true despair? Well, not yet she hadn't. By the time the plan was finished- well, there would be other meals, of course, but the longest hunger of all would at last be satiated. The cruelest twist of the knife was yet to come. But it would be soon.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight:**

 **Alive**

Ralph's eyes snapped open, and he couldn't tell the difference from when they had been closed. The air was thin, and he was having some difficulty breathing deeply.

 _No_ he thought. _Can't die here._

Summoning as much energy as he could, Ralph heaved himself upright. Masonry crashed all around him as he launched himself forward with several successive blows. Suddenly, he was emerging from the rubble, coughing as the dust blew into his face before gradually settling to the floor.

"Ralph!" he heard Gale exclaim. "Thank the developers you're safe!" As the dust finished settling, Ralph finally saw him, cell-phone in hand. Beside him was a very concerned looking Taffyta Muttonfudge.

"I've been keeping Felix posted," Gale said. "I'll let him know you're alright right now." As Gale quickly sent Felix a text, Ralph checked his pocket for his phone and pulled it out. It had been smashed beyond repair. He dropped the remains.

"The other racers are still at the website with Otis and Floyd," said Taffyta. "Where's Vanellope?"

Ralph spun around to face the rubble. It blocked all access to the rest of the room from floor to ceiling. "Oh no, she's not under that, is she?" He slammed his fists against the rocks, wincing as he moved.

"Don't exert yourself," said Gale, who had finished responding to Felix. He bent to retrieve the wreckage of Ralph's cell-phone. "You sound hurt."

"No!" Ralph cried. He gritted his teeth, ignoring the pain, and aimed several more whacks at the rubble. It wouldn't budge.

"Kid!" he called. "Vanellope! You in there?"

There was no answer.

"It's no use, Ralph," said Gale. "The rubble has to be at least twenty-feet thick."

"I can break through that!"

" _Not in your condition!_ "

Ralph started at Gale's harsh tone. Turning to face the internet character, he suddenly felt exhausted. His body ached all over as he slumped to the floor.

"Developers only know how many bruises and breaks you've got," Gale said, his tone more kindly. "You need to go back to your own game, regenerate there, before you look for your friend."

"But what if she's under the-"

"She was above the columns, Ralph," said Gale. "Vanellope's fast. I guarantee you she managed to avoid being crushed."

"Then why haven't you called her?"

"I have," said Gale. "Thrice. Her phone plainly isn't working. I think it got destroyed in the cave-in."

Ralph sighed.

"Have a little faith," Taffyta said, putting her hand on Ralph's arm. "She'll be okay. Right, Gale?"

"Well…I'm sure she's alive," said Gale. "I'm sure she's alive."

Ralph looked him in the eyes. "You sound uncertain."

"No, I'm certain," said Gale, sparing Taffyta a nervous glance.

"Don't patronize us," said Taffyta. "What are you worried about?"

"Beyond this room is the Dark Web," Gale said bluntly. "I'm certain Vanellope is alive, and that's precisely why I'm worried. Death is preferable to what she might find in there."

"Then we need to go find her!" Ralph exclaimed, climbing to his feet.

" _After_ you're healed," Gale told him. "And the sooner we get you back to the arcade, the sooner that can happen."

At that moment, Gale's cell-phone rang.

* * *

As soon as Sergeant Calhoun had heard the news from Gale, she had gone directly to _Sugar Rush_. Pausing for nobody, answering none of the inquiries from the various NPCs, she headed straight for the castle.

Sour Bill let her in. The cough drop's expression was neutral as he asked her what had happened.

"Vanellope's AWOL," Calhoun said.

Sour Bill's eyes widened. "Huh?"

"Missing," said Calhoun. "Everything was fine, but all of a sudden, she went ballistic, glitching towards who knows where. A cave-in happened, and Ralph got buried. Gale's trying to dig him out."

"Anyone called her?" Sour Bill asked.

"No answer when we tried," Calhoun replied. "I need access to the code room."

"The code room?"

"Gale said she was shouting something about not being in control," said Calhoun. "And apparently, her eyes flashed green for a second. I need to see her code box."

"I'll take you there now," said Sour Bill. He led Sergeant Calhoun into the throne room, and then towards the curtain that covered the opening leading to the metallic hallway.

Once inside, they headed further in, and then through sliding metal doors into the side corridor that led to the code chamber entrance. Sour Bill keyed in the password, and then held out the long licorice string attached to the siderail, which Calhoun took.

"It's sounding a bit like a virus," Sour Bill said as she tied it securely around her waist. "But where'd she get it? There are none here."

"A virus, or mind control?" Calhoun tested the knot. It held firm.

"Elements of both?" Sour Bill offered. "But what on earth-?"

"Let's find out." Calhoun headed for the code chamber entrance. Diving in, she headed straight for Vanellope's code box. Pausing in front of it, she looked it up and down.

"Seems normal," she said. "But let's look a little more closely."

Retrieving a specialized lens from her tool belt, she examined the code strings more closely. And that was when she saw it.

The tool revealed what the naked eye could not make out- a tiny, hairline fracture in one of the strings of code. It flickered with blue energy. And it wasn't fresh in the slightest.

"The tear looks a good decade old…"

Calhoun's voice trailed off as a realization struck her.

 _Is_ this _why she still glitches? But…if the game reset after the cybug invasion, how in the world did it get here? Who did it? And when did they do it? There was no time for anyone to enter the code chamber._

 _In any case, it's not what's causing her to act so strangely. That has to be something else._

Calhoun pressed the code box, causing it to pop open and reveal the contents. Vanellope's code seemed normal to the naked eye. But Calhoun didn't trust the naked eye. Using the lens once again, she zoomed in on first one piece of code, and then another, and another-

She gasped. Nestled firmly in the base of one of the code strands -the same one with the fracture on the portion outside the box- was a tiny, pulsating blob. Its tendrils were deeply enmeshed in the code string, and it glowed with a pale, sickly greenish hue.

* * *

As Sergeant Calhoun exited the code chamber and untied the licorice from her waist, she saw Sour Bill watching her.

"She's infected alright," she told the cough drop. "Go get Felix and the Surge Protector, tell them I want to meet with them in half an hour. First, I'm going to give Gale a call."

As Sour Bill hurried off, Calhoun pulled out her cell-phone and dialed Gale's number.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine:**

 **The Dark Web**

Vanellope followed the corridor, pausing every so often to scratch a small arrow on the wall with the chalk. It seemed to go on forever; the piece of chalk was getting smaller with every passing hour. Doors were few at first, but gradually become more frequent. The signs above them mystified her. _Get Rich Quick!_ one read. _Expand Your Mind_ another read. Many had words or phrases she didn't recognize, although the word 'naked' seemed to be a frequent recurrence.

Occasionally, Vanellope heard soft skittering sounds. But she never saw anyone. Eventually, even the skittering stopped, leaving only the sound of her breathing to disturb the deathly stillness of the corridor. It wasn't until the corridor suddenly ended at another vaulted chamber that Vanellope was aware of just how rapidly she was breathing. She willed herself to relax ever so slightly so she could take in the environment.

The new chamber was better lit than the first, though still not nearly bright enough to see into every nook and cranny. A few more doors appeared to be set in the walls, though she could not read the signs above them. If she squinted, she could just make out another corridor entrance in the far side of the room.

"Hey there, girlie."

The voice, thin and reedy, came so suddenly that Vanellope shrieked. She turned, just in time to see a lanky man in a coat and wide-brimmed hat emerge from the shadow of an archway.

"Who're you?" Vanellope asked him.

"I can be a friend, if you like," the man said. He approached her slowly, his expression a grotesque leer.

"You okay, man?" Vanellope asked. She backed up, holding up her hands as the man kept walking forward. "You're kind of freaking me out."

"Cute as a button," the man said, coming to a pause. "I can make you rich, kid. Like, really filthy rich."

"N-no thanks," Vanellope stammered. "I just want to get out of here."

"Getting out of here?" the man laughed harshly. "There's no getting out of here, cutie. Not unless you're willing to do what it takes."

"Well, I'll at least leave this room," Vanellope said. "So if you don't mind, I'll be going." She turned to leave, only to feel firm hands grasp her wrists from behind.

"Sure I can't change your mind?" the man hissed. Vanellope winced.

"No, I'm fine, really," she said. She glitched out of the man's grip and spun about. "What is your deal?"

"You wouldn't want to take any deals from him," said a new voice, this one huskier.

"Louis!" the man in the coat said, his tone suddenly apologetic. "You know I meant no harm."

A new figure, this one with a scarred visage and dressed in a cheap-looking grey suit, emerged on the scene, a gun in his hand.

"Sure, sure, you creep," the new arrival said, addressing the man in the coat. "But even a man like me has to have standards every once in a while. Leave the kid with me, or I'll put a bullet in your heart right now."

"You freakin' hypocrite!" the man in the coat spat. "You and I both know-"

A shot from the pistol silenced him. Vanellope stared, shocked, at the red stain spreading across the man's chest. He collapsed face down next to her, his final breath escaping his lips like a gasp.

The man in the grey suit put the pistol in his belt and held his hand out to Vanellope. "You come with old Louis, little girl. I'll give you a place to sleep for the night."

"Thanks, but no thanks," Vanellope said, inching slowly away. "I need to be going."

"What, you think I'm like that creepo?" Louis said. He laughed softly. "Well, maybe a little. But my wares are weapons these days. Besides, I don't care for your game. Too much candy."

"You know about _Sugar Rush_?" Vanellope asked. Then she slapped her forehead. "Right, the internet."

"Newbie, but not _that_ much of a newbie," Louis said. "Hey kid, I'm not gonna hurt you. That's other people's job."

"I've been hurt enough," Vanellope said. "Just let me go now."

"I just help people hurt others," the man said, ignoring her. "I'll sell to anyone for the right price. I sell mind control, pulse emitters, bombs, you name it. You need to get back at anyone, kid? I can get you what you need."

Vanellope stopped backing away. "Wait- pulse emitters?"

"Yeah- though it's _really_ rare for me to get hold of those. I only got the weaker ones in stock right now, though. You missed the best one by over six years, alas. Sold it to a psycho cowboy. Never did hear back from the guy to hear how it went."

" _Ainsworth_?!" Vanellope shrieked.

"Wait, you know him?" Louis asked. "How d'you know him?"

"You're the one who sold him that device!" Vanellope's heart began to beat faster as she stared at Louis's scarred face.

"Wait, wait, hold on," Louis exclaimed. "Time out. How d'you know Ainsworth?"

"I knew him," Vanellope said, forcing the words out. "He's dead."

"So the rumor _is_ true," said Louis. "He died at Litwak's. Which'd make you _that_ Vanellope."

"You've no shame?"

Louis laughed. "None at all. I even sold to that Morton fellow. And he _hated_ SANG. Got to play both sides for profit, kid. But hey, the past is the past. You want a weapon, I can get you what you need for a great price. Console contraband is the best."

"Stay away from me!" Vanellope cried. She turned and ran for the corridor entrance on the far side of the chamber.

"You'll never make it out of the Dark Web alone!" she heard Louis call after her. "I can guide you!" Vanellope didn't answer. She simply ran as fast her legs could carry her, glitching forward every now and again to gain as much distance as possible. She didn't pause for a breath until she had gone at least thirty feet into the corridor.

She turned to look behind her, and to listen. There was no one; Louis had not followed her.

Vanellope slid wearily to the floor, and began to cry.

* * *

Louis turned to see a cloaked figure standing in the archway behind him.

"Freaking out little kids isn't my usual line of work," he observed.

"Money is money," said the cloaked man, his voice harsh and rasping.

"Indeed," said Louis. "And I think you owe me some."

"I've already made the deposit," the cloaked man replied. "We're very pleased. We may call on you again."

"As long as I get paid."

"We know all about rewarding people in a fitting way," the cloaked man said as he turned and was once more swallowed by the shadows.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten:**

 **Almost a Week**

Gale answered the phone. "Hello?" he said. "Oh, Sarge, its you. Yes, we dug him out. He's still alive, yes. Injured, but alive. We're all going to come back to the arcade to confer with you. Wait, _what_?"

Gale listened closely to the sergeant's words, then said: "We'll be there in a couple of hours. Gale out." He then hung up and turned to Taffyta. "Go gather everyone and wait for me," he told her. "As soon as Ralph and I get back, we're going straight to the arcade." Taffyta nodded and ran back into the portal.

"What is it?" Ralph asked Gale.

"You're not going to like this," Gale said. "Sergeant Calhoun says she found something in Vanellope's code. Something nasty."

"A virus?"

"She's not entirely sure. But she's going to tell Surge, see if he's willing to investigate it more closely."

"Then we've _really_ gotta find her fast!" Ralph said. He held up his hands quickly before Gale could speak. "I know, I know- after I'm healed and we regroup."

"And the sooner we get back the arcade, the sooner that happens," said Gale. "Can you walk?"

Ralph took a few steps forward. "Yeah. It hurts, but I can do it."

"Good," Gale replied. "Because if I tried to carry you, I'd wind up as injured as you are."

Despite his pain, Ralph laughed.

* * *

As soon as she'd hung up, Calhoun headed for Game Central Station. When she arrived, she found Felix and the Surge Protector waiting for her.

"Ralph's alive," she told them as she exited the wire. "They're all going to head back here immediately for us to confer. Surge, you contacted Mr. Johnson yet?"

"Not yet," Surge replied. "What is it?"

Calhoun explained her twin discoveries.

"A ten year old tear in her code?" Felix asked. "But how?"

"I don't know," Calhoun replied. "But it's that thing that worries me more."

"Same here," said Surge. "I'll need to access the _Sugar Rush_ code chamber and see if I can deduce what it is."

"I was going to ask if you would," said Calhoun. "I haven't the faintest idea what the thing is."

"This'll take a fair bit of power," Surge replied, "but it shouldn't take me long. Give me a few minutes in there, and I'll be back. Then I'll contact our owner, see what he wants us to do next."

* * *

It took a considerable amount of energy for the Surge Protector to materialize his blue human form within one of the games, and he could never do it for very long. But if he was going to examine Vanellope's code as discreetly and carefully as possible, the more delicate touch of his human manifestation was required.

He dematerialized, retreating into the walls of the power strip in a flurry of energy. He floated through to the _Sugar Rush_ wire and passed into its wall, before leaping forward in a flurry of sparks. He sped through the air in micro-seconds, before arriving inside the castle corridor that led to the code chamber. Instead of materializing fully, he slipped between the hairline crack where the vault door met the wall, and headed for Vanellope's code box. Here, he summoned his blue body, allowing it to float in place in front of the box. Pressing it gently and allowing the walls to open, he turned his eyes to the code string Calhoun had mentioned. Magnifying his eyesight to an extremely advanced level, he examined the pulsing green blob carefully.

 _It was tiny enough to get past me. And I didn't think to scan the game's code because I never noticed it enter in the first place. Am I losing my touch? But no, it was beyond even me…_

He reached one hand outwards towards the blob. But instead of touching it, he merely placed his index finger in front of it, an inch away. Concentrating, he scanned the blob…

Surge gasped. He abruptly lowered his hand.

 _No! I know I eradicated every last trace of it. How has it come back? And from where?_

He reached out again, scanning once more…

…And felt a perverse mixture of cruelty, burning malice, and intense hunger emanate from the blob.

Surge lowered his arm quickly. He closed the code box, before dematerializing and exiting the code chamber. He immediately headed for the game's wire.

 _Different from last time. Last time, it was just an iron will. But this time, it feels like…like that thing. Are they connected somehow?_

 _Were they connected all this time?_

* * *

Mr. Johnson had taken a flight to Wichita first thing Saturday morning. Upon arrival, he'd picked up his rental car and headed straight for his sister's house.

Of the four members of his immediate family, he was the only one who had remained in Wilberforce after him and his younger sister, Anne, had graduated college. Anne had married a man in Wichita and settled there. After their retirement, their parents had moved down to Wichita to be close to their daughter and son-in-law, as well as their three grandchildren. Still unmarried and now in his mid-forties, Johnson continued to linger in Wilberforce, running the old arcade that had been his childhood haunt. He kept in close contact with his family, but opportunities to see them in person were less frequent than he'd have liked. Which was precisely why he'd been looking forward to Thanksgiving the entire year- he'd get to spend a good four and a half to five days with all of them, not counting the flight time to and from Wilberforce.

The initial evening had gone extremely well. His two nieces were in their early teens, and his nephew was twelve- that age where life became more complicated, and where advice from their uncle was likely to be welcomed only after attempts to go their own way had failed. Even so, they were truly happy to see him, no matter how much they pretended to ignore his occasional platitude.

 _Anne and George raise them well. They're good kids. Not infallible, but no one is. They've got good heads on their shoulders._

As he began to prepare for bed in the guest room of his parents' house that night, however, he was surprised to find an email notification on his phone. He was even more surprised when he saw the source.

 _When I gave Surge access to my account, I wasn't expecting him to send me word_ this _quickly._

He read the message carefully. When he was finished, he sat motionless in his chair, stunned. After a minute, summoning his courage, he sent a message in response. And then he dialed Mr. Litwak's phone number.

"It's late, Herb," Mr. Litwak said as soon as he had answered. "Can't you let these old bones rest?"

"There's no time for that," Johnson replied. "Remember that internet trip I told you about?"

"Yes I do."

"Vanellope's missing."

"What? How?" Mr. Litwak exclaimed.

"Sergeant Calhoun found some sort of weird thing in her code. Apparently, it made her lose control of her glitching. She's stuck in the Dark Web now, and it's anyone's guess where she'd be in that cesspit."

"You talked to Surge yet?"

"I did," Johnson replied. "I told him to do whatever it takes to get her back, and to have someone watch her code closely. I won't be back until Friday afternoon."

"You know code now and I don't," Mr. Litwak said.

"A soft reset might make it easier to remove, but-" Johnson gritted his teeth. "Crap it, why'd Daniel have to do himself in with cigarettes? I had to learn everything he learned about fixing cabinets, and now, when I actually need those skills, I can't be there!"

"Have a little faith, Herb," Mr. Litwak said. "If anyone can save Vanellope now, it's her pixelated friends and Surge."

"You know I'm not a believer, Stan."

"I know. But at least trust those characters."

"I do. But even they can do only so much. If they don't find her in time… _why_ did I let them go?"

"Don't blame yourself," Mr. Litwak told him. "You couldn't have known this would happen."

"I know, I know," Johnson replied. "I just…I hope that kid's alright."

"So do I," said Mr. Litwak. "I need to sleep now, and so do you. I've got church in the morning, and you've got a family to spend time with. Be as joyful as you can, for their sake. I'll be in touch."

Johnson hung up and set his phone down. He heard a knock at the door.

"Come in," he said.

The door opened to reveal his nephew, Jason.

"Uncle Herb, you alright?" Jason asked, entering and closing the door behind him. "I don't know what you were talking about, but you sounded worried."

Johnson forced a smile. "I forgot your bedroom was next door. But yeah, I'm a bit worried. I was talking to Mr. Litwak. It sounds like one of the games at the arcade might be broken. I won't know if I can fix it until I get back home."

"I'm sure it'll be alright," Jason said.

"I hope so," said Johnson. "Now, you better get back to bed. We all need our rest."


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven:**

 **Conference**

When Ralph arrived back at the arcade with Gale, Otis, Floyd, and the racers, the first thing he did was go back to his own game and regenerate there. Any breaks or fractures in his bones were instantly healed, though the bruises, being flesh wounds caused by material from outside his own game, would remain for a while. But he was made of tougher stuff than many a sprite, so while he still hurt, he knew he'd be able to endure another journey.

As soon as he was finished regenerating, Ralph saw Gene approaching him. The Mayor of Niceland looked more worried than Ralph had seen him in a long time.

"Sergeant Calhoun and Surge told me what happened," Gene said, coming to a stop beside Ralph. "I want to see her safely back, too. I'm coming with you."

"We don't even know what the plan is yet, but it'll probably be dangerous," said Ralph.

"I don't care!" Gene snapped. Then, more quietly, he said: "She's a very different person than I am, but Vanellope's a good kid. I don't want her to die any more than you. If you're going to the internet to save her -and I expect you will be- then I'm coming with you."

Ralph took Gene's hand briefly, taking extra care not to crush it. "You're a good man, Gene."

"Well, I do owe her for saving my life."

"That debt was paid."

"Killing Darien was a duty, not a debt payment," said Gene. "This is different." He looked at the ground and began fingering his tie. "I…I don't run out on family."

Ralph gave Gene a sly look, which the mayor noticed.

"Look, maybe's she's just the annoying younger cousin of the bunch," Gene said tersely, again looking away from Ralph, "but even those types are family." He straightened his tie, and then suddenly gave Ralph a sharp look. "Don't tell her I said any of this."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Ralph said. He turned for the carts that would take him to the wire and began walking towards them. "If you're coming, follow me. Surge needs to meet with us before we do anything."

Gene hopped after him.

* * *

Surge had curtained off the power strip outlet that led to the _Sugar Rush_ wire. Now, within the outlet, out of earshot of the other denizens of the arcade, he stood before the assembled racers, as well as Gale, Sour Bill, Felix, Calhoun, Otis, Floyd, Ralph, and Gene. Surveying the expectant faces, Surge said: "You all know what's happened. You know that I've contacted Mr. Johnson. He says he won't be here until Friday evening, and that he's left it to me to decide what it will take to save Vanellope. We'll get to the plan in a moment. But first- first there's the parts I haven't told you all yet." He took a deep breath, before adding: "I know what's infecting Vanellope…kind of."

"What do you mean 'kind of'?" Rancis asked. "Do you know or don't you?"

"I don't know exactly _what_ it is," Surge replied. "Only that I've seen it before. Think back to when _Sugar Rush_ first got plugged in. You all remember the wire trouble, right? No one was allowed to enter or leave the game for over two weeks while I sorted it out."

"I remember that," said Taffyta. "You said at the time it was a technical issue."

"It was," said Surge. "After a fashion. I spotted a bit of something green and blobby in the wire walls. It seemed to be determined to get inside the game. I kept it out, but it was so tiny and nimble it took me over two weeks to catch and eradicate it. It seemed so resolute; I practically had to…shatter its will to survive, in a way. But I couldn't let it go after any of the characters. Saying it was a technical issue was an easy shorthand. I didn't want to scare anybody."

"Why didn't you tell us afterwards?" Sour Bill asked.

"I didn't see the need. It was gone, done with. And it never came back."

"It sure made it easy for Turbo to get into the game, though," said Felix. His eyes suddenly went wide. "Oh my land, did he _know_ about the thing?"

"If he did," said Sour Bill, "he never said."

"I'm interested in that ten-year old tear in her code," said Taffyta. She turned to Sergeant Calhoun. "You think that's why she still glitches?"

"It might be why," Calhoun replied. "But you all figured it was a special ability, right?"

"Wait, wait!" Gene said. All eyes turned towards him. He turned to Calhoun. "I can't believe I'd forgotten this, but back when I was fighting Darien, when he tried to disguise himself as Vanellope, I found him out by asking him to glitch. He couldn't. He said he couldn't do it because she wasn't designed to be able to."

"Now that you mention it," said Rancis, "the one time she raced before Turbo took over? She never did it. All she did was store up energy and then propel her kart forward about five feet- an energy boost."

"Then my hunch was right," said Calhoun. "The glitch is a corruption of her true ability."

"The only question is," said Gale, "why is she still able to do it? She told me that the game had a soft reset after Turbo's death, and she could still do it after that."

"If Turbo really died in Diet Cola Mountain," said Rancis.

"What?" Ralph asked. "You saying that creep might still be around?"

"He can't be," said Surge. "I've been more watchful since then. There's been no trace of him in any of the games for more than ten years."

"No, he's definitely dead," said Rancis. "But…what if the hot cola _wasn't_ what killed him?"

"What do you mean?" said Tafyta.

"This is just a hunch," said Rancis, "but…Turbo was merged with a cybug, right? Was he fully deleted by the cola, or was only the cybug code deleted? He hadn't been merged for long, and Ralph says he seemed to be in control."

"Go on," said Surge.

"When I and the other racers- when we regenerate, we pass through the code chamber in a split second before rematerializing. It's so fast you barely sense it. Turbo was coded into the game, so he would have regenerated normally. But he'd been corrupted by cybug code, right? What if it was only partial, and he'd started to regenerate- but really slowly, because his code was kind of messed up? Then the reset happens, his code gets deleted, and _boom_ \- instead of flashing back out of the code chamber, he hits the wall or something. Dies right there in the code room. But not before he makes one little rip, leaving Vanellope unstable."

"You got any way to prove that theory?" Calhoun asked.

"No- there's no video, nothing, not even any remains of his sprite," Rancis replied. "Again, it's just a hunch, but nothing else makes sense of the tear except it being Turbo's final revenge."

"He _would_ ," Ralph said.

"We may never know for certain," said Surge. "Though it is plausible. But one thing we know- the blob is attached to the code string with the tear. Which is probably why it could manipulate her glitching."

"But why?" Candlehead asked. "Why attack Vanellope? If it's just a mindless thing-"

"It's _not_ mindless," Surge said, his voice filled with trepidation. "It _knows_ what it's doing."

All eyes turned to Surge.

"Now we come to the rest of what I've got to say," Surge continued. "Back in 2012, Mr. Litwak plugged his laptop into me once to use the internet. I got to scan the place for a time- it's how I first learned what it was like. At the time, I sensed a…presence, if you will. It was like cruelty incarnate- ravishingly hungry and implacably strong-willed, with a twisted intelligence."

"A virus?" Gale scratched his head. "But no, it couldn't be. Viruses aren't sentient. They have no will of their own."

"I don't know what it was," Surge said. "What I know is that ever since, I've had a horrible feeling I can't explain, that it's affected this arcade before."

"How, if it's never been here?" Felix asked.

Surge gave him a knowing look. "Has it not?"

"What do you mean?"

"I said that blob back in 1997 had a strong will. This new one does, too. But there's more this time. This time, it feels like that…that thing."

"Are you implying that whatever's infecting Vanellope came from the internet?" Gale asked.

"Are you saying I'm wrong?"

"No, I'm not," Gale replied. "I think you're right. I just don't know what it could be."

"Whatever it is," said Surge, "I think it controls that blob. I think it also controlled the first one, way back in 1997. And I think it's paying closer attention this time."

"So what's the plan?" Ralph asked.

"Gale," Surge said, turning to the internet character, "you know the web better than any of us. Can you guide a chosen team to bring back Vanellope?"

"Upon my code, I will," Gale said.

"Good. I'm sending the ones who went to the net the first time: Felix, Sergeant Calhoun, Ralph, and Gene."

"What about us?" Taffyta demanded, gesturing over her shoulder towards the other racers. "Vanellope's our friend, too. We're going."

"No you're not," Surge said. "I'm not risking your all's lives."

"You're risking lives already," Taffyta retorted. "What're a few more?"

"Three games that could be lost, instead of two," Surge replied bluntly. "Yes, if Ralph, Felix, Gene, or Calhoun die, their games are basically busted. But if, developers forbid, Vanellope doesn't make it back, we _might_ be able to tweak the code just enough for one of you all to take her place in her princess cutscene, and _Sugar Rush_ could still work. Besides, those four have experience dealing with danger on the internet. None of you racers can say the same."

"But-"

"That's final," said Surge. He turned to the _Pong_ paddles. "Otis, Floyd, you'll keep an eye on them all for me?"

"Sure thing," Floyd said.

Taffyta glowered, but said nothing.

"Sour Bill?"

"Yes, Surge?"

"You'll keep an eye on Vanellope's code in case anything happens?"

"Of course."

Calhoun handed Sour Bill the magnifying lens from her toolbelt. "Might need that," she said as he took it.

"Alright," Surge said, clapping his hands together. "Gale, take your party and make any preparations as quickly as possible before you head for the internet. The rest of us will wait here until Friday for Mr. Johnson to return and see if he can fix Vanellope's code. You just make sure her code's still around to be fixed."

 _Because if it's not_ Surge thought to himself as he dematerialized and retreated into the walls of the power strip, _I don't know if I'll ever forgive myself for not detecting that second green blob's entrance._


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve:**

 **Dead Husks**

Alone in his apartment, Wreck-It Ralph stood still and quiet, gazing at his memorabilia. He'd said his goodbyes to Q-Bert and crew, to the other Nicelanders, and to the Bad-Anon crew already. He'd needed a few moments, alone, though, which Gale had granted him with some reluctance.

The cookie medal at the center drew his attention.

 _I made it for you. Just in case we don't win. Not that I think there's even a remote chance we're not gonna win._

Ralph felt a tear forming in the corner of one eye.

"I don't even know if we're gonna win this one, kid," he said. "But your code box is still here, which means you're still here. I guess…I guess that's as good a sign as any there's still hope."

Ralph heard the door of his apartment opening. "Hey Ralph," he heard Felix say. "Gale says we've gotta go now. You about ready?"

Wiping the tear away, Ralph grabbed the cookie medal from its peg and hung it around his neck. Turning to Felix, he said: "Now I am."

* * *

Hope was the last thing on Vanellope's mind as she stumbled through a corridor even darker than the last one. She'd passed through more chambers and corridors since her escape from the arms dealer, but she had no idea how many. She'd lost all clear sense of direction some time ago.

The chalk had enabled her to keep track of her position for a while, but then the lights had dimmed still further. And then she had dropped her chalk in surprise as the skittering sounds had returned. She had run then, faster than she would have believed possible, ran until she was almost out of breath, down side passageways, deeper and deeper into the tunnels, desperate to escape the noise. Now, crouched next to a wall that somehow seemed blacker than the shadows surrounding her, Vanellope scanned the corridor front and back.

She had no idea what had been making the sounds, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to find out. There was no telling what sort of thing -or _things_ \- lived in this place.

 _Wherever this is._

Another sound made Vanellope start. But it wasn't the skittering. This time, it was heavy footsteps. With a yelp of surprise, she glitched backwards into the wall- and through it.

She emerged, tumbling onto her backside, into a dimly lit, half-formed husk of a room. Coughing as dust from the floor was propelled upwards by her landing, Vanellope tried to sit up. She made it halfway, before she was yanked backwards by cobwebs that she'd become entangled in. Clawing frantically, Vanellope extricated herself and leaped upright. A cold, musty wind blew through the air, causing her to shiver.

 _An unclaimed domain name?_

Vanellope glanced behind her towards the wall she had come through. No one was there.

 _Maybe I can hide in here until whoever it is was gone. But I shouldn't go too far._

She pulled the hood of her jacket over her head and stuffed her hands into her pockets to keep warm. Then, slowly and cautiously, she headed for the nearest archway.

 _I'll go a couple of rooms in, but no farther._

Passing through the archway, Vanellope entered another corridor, which she followed to another archway a short distance away.

 _I'll wait in this room._

She went forward a short distance. The room was even more dimly lit than the previous one, and the air seemed stale. The cold wind carried a sickening stench of decay that made Vanellope feel nauseous.

 _Maybe a different room-_

Feeling a crunching sound under her feet, Vanellope dropped to her knees and felt about with her fingers. Whatever it was felt almost like old newspaper, but as she grasped it, it seemed to have some semblance of a shape like… an arm?

Curious, Vanellope gripped tightly and brought it forward into the little light that was nearby. It _was_ an arm- flattened where she gripped it, still with shape everywhere else. With a shudder, she dropped it, and inched forward carefully. The light revealed a face that was half visible through the rotted remains of a face-concealing hood. The eyes were wide open, the mouth frozen in the midst of a cry of terror and pain.

With a gasp, Vanellope leaped several feet away, hearing a crackling sound as the corpse she had been resting on sprang back into its former shape.

 _Hollow? Just a skin? But who was he?_

Then she heard it again. The skittering, much louder this time, echoing throughout the chamber. Panicking, Vanellope hurried forward, running straight into another hollowed out corpse that was enmeshed in cobwebs that hung from the ceiling- this one a bearded, armored man with large spiked pauldrons. She glitched out of its embrace, straight into a pile of even more dead husks. Screaming, Vanellope clambered away, only to find herself staring at twin, glowing orbs of green.

"Hello, little girl."

The voice was harsh, rasping, and a touch sibilant. Vanellope froze. The green lights seemed to be focusing intently on her, almost like eyes. In fact, the longer Vanellope stared at them, the more she was convinced that they _were_ eyes.

"Uh…hello?" she said. Her voice was small, barely above a whisper.

"You seem to be lost," the voice said.

"N-n-no, no I'm not lost," Vanellope said. Noticing that her hood had slid off, she tried to reach back for it, only to realize that her arm could barely move.

"Come now," the voice said. "Don't lie to me. Only the truly lost find their way in here."

"Fine then," Vanellope said. "Let's say I'm lost. Do-do you know the way out? And why can't I move?"

The eyes narrowed slightly. The voice chuckled. "Do you really think you can escape from here?"

Vanellope shuddered.

"And as for why you can't move," the voice added, "it's called fright."

"What are you?" Vanellope said.

"Hungry is what I am," the voice replied. "Famished, starving. I haven't eaten in so long…so very long." The eyes narrowed even further. "And you, little girl, look positively _delicious_."

Vanellope's brain screamed for her to get up and run far away. But she couldn't will herself to move; her limbs were strangely leaden.

The eyes widened once again.

"You can count yourself lucky I gave you warning before I sucked on your succulent code," the voice said. "Few have the chance for any last words. But now, if you don't mind, I'll satiate myself."

Vanellope finally managed to clamber upright. She backed away, slowly at first, then more quickly. The eyes, which had been moving closer, stopped.

"Your will to survive seems to have kicked in," the voice said. "But it will do you no good. I rule here, in this realm of darkness. And you, little girl, are _mine_!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" another voice said. Vanellope spun about, but she couldn't see anyone.

"Who's there?" she cried. Suddenly, she felt herself gripped in someone's arms.

"Don't struggle," a voice whispered in her ear. "Do exactly as I say, if you want to live."

Vanellope glanced up at a grinning, amiable face adorned with a debonair moustache and topped with a cavalier's hat over curled hair.

"Captain Edward Morgan, at your service, my lady," the newcomer said. He set her on the ground. "And right now, you may want to run _away_ from this beast."


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen:**

 **Captain Morgan**

Vanellope stared at the newcomer. He was clad in a fine tunic and hose, with brown boots and a dark cloak to match his hat. His appearance was almost magnetic, and Vanellope found herself strangely drawn to his presence in a way she couldn't understand.

There was a flash of metal as Captain Morgan drew his sword. "I told you to run!" he cried. He pointed in the direction opposite the one Vanellope was facing. "The way you came! Towards the portal!" He spun about. "I'll be right behind you!"

Startled out of her reverie, Vanellope turned and ran in the direction indicated, narrowly avoiding the cobwebs that hung from the ceiling. Behind her, she could hear the loud skittering once again, and a guttural growl of rage and pain that could only have come from the mysterious creature. She didn't look back. She headed through the archway, into the corridor, down it, and back into the first room. She had forgotten the cobwebs in this room as well until she slammed into them. Hearing the skittering sound drawing closer, she glitched until she was free, and then fell forward, bits of web clinging to her torso and limbs. Staggering upright, she turned at the sound of footsteps. Captain Morgan appeared in the room, sword in hand.

"Through the portal!" he shouted. "Go!"

Vanellope needed no second bidding. She headed straight for the black wall. But as she reached it, she suddenly felt woozy again.

"What- again?"

She felt her body glitch into the wall against her own will, and then began to pass through. She made it halfway, before she got stuck. The woozy feeling passed, but she remained stuck. Desperate, she glitched repeatedly, inching forward carefully with every sudden movement. Sparks rippled from her body through the wall, making it tingle as it pinched her waist-

-And then she was free. Thrown head over heels, she landed on her back with her legs up against the far wall. From the corner of her eye, she saw Captain Morgan emerge from the portal and sheathe his sword.

"We're safe for now," he said. Vanellope clambered upright, only to become suddenly aware of how dusty, dirty, and filthy she was. Hurriedly, she clawed the cobwebs and dirt from her body, and then gave her rescuer another long look.

"Who are you?" she asked him.

"I told you," her rescuer said. "Captain Edward Morgan, at your service."

"That thing won't- won't come through the wall?"

"I don't think so," Captain Morgan replied. "It's been trapped in their since the fall of 2013. When the U.S. Government shut down that website, it was inside, and it became a permanent resident as a result."

"What is it?"

"Trust me, my dear," Captain Morgan said with a smile, "you don't want to know." He held out one of his gloved hands. "Your name, my lady?"

"You don't know it?"

"I _could_ say it from memory, but I much prefer a proper introduction."

Vanellope took his hand. "I'm Vanellope von Schweetz," she said in a small voice. "Thanks for saving me."

"I'm just glad I could make it in time," he said. "You're a hard one to keep up with."

Vanellope lowered her arm. "You were following me?"

"For a little while now," Captain Morgan said. "No, it's not what you think," he added, holding up his arms, palms outward. "I don't live in this nasty place. But when I saw you had entered, I knew I had to get you out. This is no place for a child."

Suddenly, overcome with pent up exhaustion and sorrow, Vanellope dropped her knees and began to sob.

"Oh, no, no, my dear girl," Captain Morgan said, kneeling in front her. "Don't cry. You're safe now. I'll get you out of here." He drew her into a gentle embrace. "No, don't cry."

But Vanellope couldn't bring herself to stop crying for several minutes. And all the while, Captain Morgan held her in his arms, silently, not letting go.

* * *

At last, when the tears had ceased to flow, Vanellope clambered slowly out of Captain Morgan's embrace. "Thank you," she said. "I've had a hard day."

"It was my duty," Captain Morgan replied. He stood up. "But…you're from an arcade game. What are you doing on the internet?"

"It was supposed to be a fun vacation while the arcade was closed. But I kinda got lost, separated from my friends."

"The internet is a dangerous place for the unwary," said Captain Morgan. "The Dark Web especially."

"The where?"

"The Dark Web. Where we are now."

Vanellope glanced around the dimly lit corridor. "A fitting name."

"I suppose it is," said Captain Morgan. "Although the dim lighting isn't where the name comes from."

"Now," Vanellope said, stumbling towards her left, "I need to get out of here…"

She nearly tripped, barely managing to steady herself by placing one hand against the wall.

"You'll never make it alone," Captain Morgan said. "Come with me, I know the way out."

"Guess I don't have a choice," Vanellope said. She turned slowly. "Just one thing though, Captain- can you carry me?"

"Until you can walk again, yes," said Captain Morgan.

* * *

Inside the unclaimed domain name, the creature skittered into the outermost room. Surveying the portal with its green eyes, it saw a tiny blue spark ripple through it for the barest fraction of a second. Emitting a sigh of satisfaction, the creature headed forward.

 _Ah, Vanellope von Schweetz, you're far too kind to me. So delightfully easy to manipulate. I would have thought my flesh would have had to motivate you harder. But you're so easy to anticipate. And now…now my plans can accelerate._

The creature arrived in front of the wall. With sight from a source other than its eyes, it scanned Vanellope's body.

 _You are far enough way now that I can chance it._

It pressed itself against the portal- and slowly, carefully, passed through it, into the hallway.

 _Nine years of near-total imprisonment, and now I'm free. Free even sooner than I'd have expected. Soon, I shall feed more directly. But not yet. First, dearest Vanellope, I will let you believe that you have hope, that the captain can help you escape from me. And then, when your emotions are at their ripest, I will pluck them like fruit. I will extract every ounce of satisfaction that was promised to me all those years ago. And at the last, when you believe you have tasted true despair, you will learn that you have not even begun to realize what despair is._


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen:**

 ** _Cannonshot_**

Gale had spent the rest of that day and a bit of the next leading the rescue party back to his website, allowing time for the still-healing Ralph to rest briefly a couple of times. Upon arrival, they headed to an inner room where Gale and the racers had deposited the portal to the Dark Web before their return to the arcade. Once there, they checked their tools and equipment, before entering the portal. Once on the other side, Gale gestured to the wall of rubble. "Ralph," he said, "if you feel well enough to do the honors?"

"Needs to be done anyway," said Ralph. He raised his fists and began smashing his way through the massive pile of debris. It took him at least twenty minutes to clear a path, but eventually, he managed.

"Ah," he said, slumping from the exertion.

"You okay, Ralph?" Felix asked.

"Give me a few minutes," Ralph replied. After a momentary rest, he stood up. "Alright, let's go."

"Follow my lead, all of you," said Gale as he began to lead the group through the cleared path. "I've been here several times before. Never mind why, I'm…not proud of it. But I do know this place. Stay close to me. And be on your guard. Here, there be monsters."

* * *

Vanellope said little during the next hour as Captain Morgan carried her back to the main corridor and then to a door a short distance further down.

"Never mind what this site's about," Captain Morgan said when she was about to read the sign above the door. "It doesn't matter. All that matters is the portal in the main room."

He opened the door, revealing a red-walled interior with a door in each wall. A rounded portal filled with more of the sickly green liquid occupied the room's center.

"Hold tight, my lady" Captain Morgan said. "We're going through." Vanellope closed her eyes as he leaped into the portal.

They emerged on the other side into a white room whose walls were adorned with colored curves which terminated in arrows pointed at the portal, which was mounted on the back wall. From topmost to bottommost, the curves were blue, green, grey, red, and yellow-orange. The room was unoccupied.

"Welcome to TorProject," said Captain Morgan. "Can you stand?"

"Uh-huh," Vanellope said. The captain kneeled, allowing her to slide off of his back onto the floor.

"Now," said Captain Morgan, "where was it you needed to get back to?"

Vanellope turned to face him, but she said nothing. Her mind was working furiously.

 _Just who is this guy? Where is he from? He doesn't seem too bad, but I don't know how far I can trust him yet._

 _But he did save my life._

 _But so did that weapon seller, and look who he turned out to be._

 _But I've no idea where I am. It can't hurt to at least ask for directions back to Gale's website, right? I can make my way back to the arcade from there…_

Vanellope paused as soon as she had begun to open her mouth. _Go back? After I killed Ralph? Yeah, it was an accident, but that changes nothing. Everyone'll hate me just the same. They might not say it to my face, but they will. How do I tell Felix and the Nicelanders, Q-Bert and crew, that they're game's going down because of me?_

"I hate myself!" Vanellope said, clenching her fists and blinking furiously in a failed effort to prevent herself from crying again.

"But…why?" Captain Morgan asked. "What have you done?"

Vanellope wiped her eyes. "I wanna hear more about you first," she said. "What game are you from?"

"Oh, that's easy," said Captain Morgan. "I'm an NPC from _Cannonshot_. It's an MMO that's been in development for a few years. You know what an MMO is?"

"Actually…yeah I do," Vanellope said. "But I've never seen one."

"Would you like to?"

Vanellope's eyes widened. "Really? I could?"

" _Cannonshot_ hasn't gone live yet, and won't until the new year. It's almost ready, but no players yet outside of a few game checkers- beta testers, we call them."

"They'll notice I don't belong, right?"

"I'm on good terms with the other characters," Captain Morgan assured Vanellope. "We can keep you out of their sight long enough for a visit."

Vanellope hesitated to answer.

"Look," said Captain Morgan. "I don't know what's troubling you. You don't have to tell me until you're good and ready. But you look like you need time to think things over and relax a bit. Let my friends and I cheer you up for a day or so, then I'll help you find your friends." He held out his hand. "What do you say?"

Vanellope looked Captain Morgan full in the face and once again, she felt herself strangely drawn to him. _I don't know why, but I like this guy. He's…weirdly soothing._

Vanellope took the proffered hand and shook it. She smiled briefly. "I guess I can visit for a little bit."

"Splendid!" Captain Morgan said. "Lucky for you, it's not far from here. But I should warn you- try not to get hit by a cannonball."

"A cannonball?"

"I guess I haven't told you," Captain Morgan said. " _Cannonshot_ is a pirate-themed MMO."

"Really?" Vanellope asked. "Are you a pirate?"

Captain Morgan laughed. "Well, no…and yes. See, I'm a privateer. The King of England pays me to hunt down ships that are not of his nation. Ah, in the gameplay I mean. To you, dearest Vanellope, I am simply Edward Morgan, a gentleman at your service." He doffed his hat and bowed low, eliciting a laugh from Vanellope.

"What's so funny?" Captain Morgan asked, rising slightly.

"You!" Vanellope said, grinning. "You're so formal. You remind me of Sir Percy."

"Who?"

"Oh, uh, there's an obscure indie arcade game inspired by _The Scarlet Pimpernel_ where I come from. He's the player character."

"Interesting," said Captain Morgan, rising completely and putting on his hat once again. He threw open the door, revealing a corridor with blue paneled walls. "Out here, to the right, and the fifth door on the left."

Vanellope crept forward and peered out into the corridor, looking both ways. Seeing nobody, she headed for the door in question, arriving quickly. "When you said it was close, you weren't kidding," Vanellope said as Captain Morgan arrived beside her.

Captain Morgan simply smiled and opened the door.

* * *

No sooner had Vanellope entered than she gasped in wonder. She was on a grassy hill overlooking a bustling coastal town. Dozens of sprites milled about on the streets below, while in the distance, a vast ocean stretched out farther than her eyes could see. She could make out a few ships in the distance, their sails billowing in the wind as they traversed the waves. A bright, warm sun shone over it all, bathing the scenery in its glow.

"You like it?" said Captain Morgan, coming up beside her and closing the door behind him. "It goes on for miles, with at least half a dozen more islands to explore. And more to come as, as the developers add them."

"It's amazing," Vanellope said.

"Truly," said Captain Morgan. "The humans' technical prowess and imagination is impressive. Shall we go?"

"Where to even start?"

"The town's as good a place as any," Captain Morgan replied. "It's where the gamers will start out." He placed a hand on Vanellope's shoulder. "Welcome to _Cannonshot_."


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen:**

 **For Our Friend**

For fifteen years, Taffyta Muttonfudge had not known that she and Vanellope had once been on the road to friendship. She had taken King Candy's warnings seriously from the start; she had possessed a sense of duty and responsibility lacking in Vanellope when _Sugar Rush_ had been plugged in. But as the years had gone by, she had grown impatient at Vanellope's constant desire to race. Then her impatience had turned to indignation, and finally to a spiteful, cold fury.

And then the ruse had come crashing down, and her memories had returned. It was almost too quick for words, and her initial apology had sounded forced, almost insincere. But it wasn't, not really. And even if it had been, it wouldn't have been as the day had worn on, and she had had time to reflect further. The memory of the game's true coding arrangement had come to mind immediately. But the memories of two weeks of play, of laughter, of joy? Though accessible from the moment of the reset, Taffyta had not thought of them until they crept up on her unawares in the middle of the night, nearly twenty-four hours later.

She had apologized again to Vanellope the next evening. Only this time, it had been just the two of them, and her words had been quieter, slower, more carefully chosen. Vanellope had reiterated her forgiveness, only this time without any sarcasm at all. Taffyta had been as proud of her fellow racer then as she had been ashamed of herself.

But they hadn't become friends then. The threads which they had begun to weave all those years ago had been badly frayed. No matter how much Vanellope insisted otherwise, Taffyta knew she was still hurting. So she had undertaken the after-hours democracy project as a way of pleasing her ruler. That had brought its own problems, of course, with her personality once again clashing with Vanellope's. And in the end, despite almost blaming herself for everything, Taffyta had been forced to concede that _this_ time at least, Vanellope had been more to blame then she- an acknowledgement made easier by Vanellope's contritely adamant insistence that it was so.

But if the conflict with Dr. Despair had broken down barriers, it was the spate of gamer hate for Vanellope's glitching that had been the catalyst for the racers' truly forming a bond with their former enemy. Because this time, when she had reached an emotional low, they had all of them gone out of their way to be there for her. After that, all of the racers, including Taffyta, had been able to count Vanellope as a genuine friend.

 _Now, nine and a half years later, she's in terrible danger, and we're stuck here, doing nothing at all._

Taffyta sucked furiously on her lollipop as she surveyed the other racers, who were sitting on the ground in front of her inside Diet Cola Mountain.

 _Not if I have anything to say about it._

She removed the lollipop from her mouth and held it between her thumb and forefinger. "You all got the message. I take it we're in agreement? We leave in the last hour of the night?"

"We're gonna do it," said Candlehead. "It's just…there's no way to get out without being noticed."

"No, there isn't," Taffyta replied. "Surge will notice. He'll be upset. And I, for one, don't give a fudge."

"Tsk. Language, Taff," said Gloyd.

Taffyta ignored him. "Right, then. File out gradually over the next hour. Rancis, go first, keep Otis and Floyd occupied for a while."

As Rancis left, Adorabeezle approached Taffyta. "Frankly, I'm amazed we got away with this meeting at all."

"It's no secret we like to hang out here on occasion. Us all chatting together here? Nothing unusual in that. Besides, we agreed with Surge to stay here in the arcade."

"You had us all lie," Adorabeezle said. "It feels wrong."

"Getting cold feet now?" Taffyta asked her. "You were the first one to say we should go."  
"I know that. And I haven't changed my mind. It just makes me feel funny is all."

"I know, I get it," said Taffyta. She looked uncertain for a moment, before gathering her resolve once again. "We're going to hurt people who love us. Truth is, I _don't_ like it any more than you do. But I…we can't stand on the sidelines when Vanellope's life is in danger. Not after the last ten years. And especially not after the fifteen before that."

"Don't remind me," said Adorabeezle, sighing.

"She forgave us when we didn't deserve it," said Taffyta. "If we don't go now, _I_ won't forgive _myself_." She flicked her lollipop aside. "We're going to do this," she said, taking Adorabeezle by the hand. "For our friend."

* * *

The racers took the construction truck. As Taffyta had said, there was no hope of secrecy, so they had to rely on speed. Even so, they hadn't expected to have the police van on their trail so quickly.

"What're you doing?" Wynnchel cried, leaning his head out of the window as Duncan sent it speeding after them. "Where're you going?"

"More speed!" Taffyta urged Rancis, who was behind the wheel.

"Pedel to the medal!" Candlehead shouted from her spot in the truck bed.

From her spot in the passenger seat next to Rancis, Taffyta spied the wire entrance up ahead. They sent the truck careening up the rainbow bridge and towards the entrance. Taffyta glanced back to make sure none of the racers had fallen out.

"All here!" Gloyd said with a woozy smile, before vomiting over the side of the truck bed. Taffyta winced at the sight before turning back to face the front.

They entered the wire and passed through it quickly, exiting into Game Central Station before the Surge Protector had even finished materializing. Taffyta didn't even look back as Rancis steered them towards the wire entrance that led into the arcade's wall. As they approached it, they saw Surge's blue form appear in front of them, holding up his hands. "Stop, please!" he cried. "What are you _doing_? We had a deal!"

Seeing Rancis start to hesitate, Taffyta glared at him. "Keep going," she said. She turned back in time to see Surge leap out of the way as the truck sped past him into the wire. As they left the arcade behind, Taffyta heard him calling after them: "I can't lose you all, too."

Taffyta's breath caught in her mouth. Surge's voice had been different. Almost…emotional.

At a bend in the wire, Rancis brought the truck to a halt. "Taffyta, are you okay?" he asked.

Taffyta blinked back the tears that had been about to fall from her eyes. "I'm fine," she said. She turned to see that the racers were all still in the truckbed. They looked shaken, but unhurt. A longer glance behind the truck showed that no one had followed them into the wire. Turning back to Rancis, she said: "Take us to the modem."

Rancis resumed driving, this time more slowly than before.


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen:**

 **What Lurks in the Shadows**

The racers had left the truck in the modem; there was simply no practical way to bring it onto the internet, into corridors that wouldn't always be wide enough for it to pass through. Still, progress without it was slow, even with all of the racers unusually quiet and focused. It had taken them hours to reach Gale's website, and the day was already waning when they arrived. Once they were before the portal to the Dark Web, Taffyta called a halt.

"I think we'd better rest at least an hour," she told the other racers.

"Here?" Minty Zaki asked. "What if Gale and the others show up?"

"They're not here, Minty," said Taffyta. "They're gone on their own search."

"They'll get told we left," Minty said.

"Too late to worry about that," Taffyta told her. "We've decided."

"I'm not backing out now," Minty replied. "None of us are. But what happens if we bump into them?"

Taffyta hesitated, unsure of what to say. Truth to tell, she'd been so focused on merely reaching the internet that she hadn't entirely considered the possibility. Before the silence could stretch on for too long, however, Adorabeezle chimed in:

"We'll cross that bridge when and if we come to it. In any case, you all should get some rest. We set out in an hour."

As the other racers settled into various corners for a short nap, Taffyta approached Adorabeezle. "Thanks for the save," she said quietly.

"It was a fair question, though," said Adorabeezle.

"It might not be the worst thing if we bump into them," said Taffyta. "They can't force us all back to the arcade now. I'll accept any punishment later if it means we can help them find Vanellope."

"Admit it," said Adorabeezle. "You're feeling guilty."

Taffyta sighed. "Surge sounded so…sad."

"Just imagine his relief when we return with Vanellope," Adorabeezle told her. "His scolding will be nothing compared to that. Now get some sleep. I'll keep watch for a bit."

"Don't you need rest, too?" Taffyta asked her.

"Don't worry about me," Adorabeezle said, grinning. "I slept extra-long the night before. I've some energy stored up for another day. Long as I sit still, I'll be fine for another day at least."

Taffyta grinned in return as she turned away and headed for a spot by the wall to lie down.

* * *

An hour later, freshly rested, the racers stood inside the portal, observing the path that had been cleared through the rubble.

"God bless Ralph," Rancis said. "I was worried we'd have to clear a way through ourselves. It might have taken us a whole day."

"Never underestimate Ralph's strength when he's determined," said Taffyta. She led the others through the path and into the large chamber on the other side. Once there, they stopped.

"Stay together," Taffyta told them. "We don't want to get separated in a place this dark."

"Which way do we go?" Rancis asked.

"Right now, how about forward?" Taffyta suggested.

* * *

Against one wall of the darkened, vaulted chamber, hidden from all eyes, the creature observed the fourteen racers proceed on their way into the Dark Web.

 _How…intriguing. Vanellope really_ does _have loyal friends, if they came all the way from Litwak's Arcade to find her. If I play my cards right, I'll get yet another way to break her soul- and fourteen more meals will be nothing to sneeze at, either._

 _And I know just how to ensnare them._

* * *

Ralph, Gene, Felix, and Calhoun had been following Gale for hours through the darkened, gloomy corridors of the Dark Web. They had heard nothing, and encountered no one. But Vanellope's footprints in the dust and dirt covering the floor had been easy enough to follow with the aid of Gale and Calhoun's flashlights. When the trail led them straight to a darkened wall in a side corridor, however, Gale called an abrupt halt.

"What is it?" Gene asked him.

"Oh developers preserve us," Gale exclaimed. "She went in _here_?"

"What's in there?" Ralph asked. "An unclaimed domain name? I've been in one of those. I can handle it."

"It's not the place itself," said Gale, turning to the others. "It's what's _inside_ the place."

" _What's_ inside?" Ralph blurted.

"I don't know."

Ralph glared at him. "What do you mean, 'you don't know'?"

"Ralph, calm down," Calhoun said, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Just that," Gale said. "I don't know. No one does. Nobody who goes in this particular domain ever returns."

"Who lives in there," Gene asked. "The devil or something?"

"Quite possibly," said Gale. "This was a website where humans bought and sold illegal drugs. Game characters sold drugs here too- stuff they duplicated from bootlegged games. I know because I, uh…came here sometimes."

"You did drugs?" Gene asked, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

"Years ago," Gale replied. "I was clean within a year of the website's closure, though. The U.S. Government seized it in 2013, and to us, it's been like an unclaimed domain name since then. Access is restricted for humans, but the feds have no way to prevent game characters getting in or out."

"You did drugs," said Felix. "I wouldn't have guessed it."

"As I said, I've been clean for years now. But it had its lasting effects on me- on my code. It isn't just my personality that makes me so twitchy."

An awkward silence descended for a few moments. Then, abruptly, Gale held up one finger. "Anyway, this place. Ever since the seizure, there have been rumors. Rumors that something got trapped inside when the site was seized. Something nasty."

"If no one ever returns," Calhoun asked, "where do the rumors come from?"

"Good question," said Gale. "I don't know. But we need to be on our guard when we go in there. There's no telling what's inside. Do _not_ get separated."

They plunged through the hidden portal, into a darkened, cobweb covered, half-formed room. Calhoun immediately pulled out her scanner and surveyed the chamber.

"No signs of life," she said.

"Nothing?" said Gale. "The stories are that the thing in here is…alive."

"Maybe they were just stories," said Calhoun.

"Shush!" Gale said. He knelt to the ground. "Two sets of footprints in here. And one isn't Vanellope's. They both lead back to the portal, but not before they go ahead further. Let's see where they went in here."

He led them quickly through one archway, and then through another, into another chamber.

"The old drug showcase room," Gale said, grimacing.

"What's that stench?" Gene asked.

Sergeant Calhoun raised the level of her light to maximum, suffusing the chamber in a warm glow. Everyone blinked, their eyes adjusting to the greater amount of light, and then collectively gasped.

There was no one else in the room apart from themselves- no one living, that is. But there were plenty of corpses. Mounds of bodies, heaped in corners, features frozen in expressions of terror and agony.

"Oh my land- what could have _done_ this?" Felix exclaimed.

Gale had spotted the corpse of what looked to have been a ninja not far away. He hurried towards it and knelt down. As the others arrived beside him, they heard him say: "The Master. Rest in peace, you poor bastard."

"A friend of yours?" Ralph asked.

"Once he was," Gale replied. "We wouldn't get along now if he were still alive." He stood up, spotting an armored figure hanging from cobwebs that were suspended from the ceiling. "And Leroy, too," he added.

"Who were they?" Gene asked.

"My friends," Gale said, his voice choked with emotion, "after years of searching, we've finally found the last two members of SANG's ruling council." He turned to them, and they saw that he was fighting to hold back tears.

"I know they were evil," Gale said. "But…look at their faces." He turned away then, covering his face. Ralph stepped forward and placed a hand lightly on Gale's shoulder.

"You don't need to explain," he said. "We understand."

Gale wiped his eyes and turned to Ralph. "Thank you," he said.

Sergeant Calhoun had knelt down beside The Master's corpse and was examining it. "This body's hollow," she said.

Gale dropped to the ground abruptly and examined the body for himself. There was a gaping hole in its chest. He probed it gently with his fingers.

"You're right," he said. "There's nothing inside. It's like his insides were sucked right out of him. Only a virus consumes code like that."

"A virus, you say?" Calhoun pointed at the frayed edges of skin around the tear in the body. "You said viruses aren't sentient. But all of these bodies have the same hole. And unless my tools are faulty, this hole was made by something living. And I think these killings were calculated."

"No, that's not possible," said Gale. "Not unless…"

"My scanners didn't pick up any viruses in this place," Calhoun said quietly.

"But if an unleashed virus is trapped in an unclaimed or seized domain name, it _can't_ get out," said Gale. "Not on its own."

"What if it had help?"

"Or worse," Gale replied. "What if it's got a mind of its own?"

Felix's breath caught in his mouth. "The presence Surge sensed. He detected it in 2012."

"And this website was seized in 2013," said Gale. "If it was trapped in here then, it would be the subject of the rumors."

"Wait a moment," Ralph said, waving his hands. "Time out. A _sentient_ virus?"

"We have to assume the worst, Ralph," said Gale. Abruptly, he sprang upright and gestured to two pairs of footprints on the ground, headed back the way they had come.

"Vanellope made it out," said Gale. "And so did whoever followed her in here." He led them back to the wall portal, and then turned to Calhoun. "You got another of those magnifying devices?" he asked.

"Sure," Calhoun said, selecting it from her belt and tossing it to Gale. Gale took it and examined the wall closely, before handing the tool back to Calhoun. "Signs of a virus passing through," he said. "Follow me!"

They leaped back through the wall and into the corridor. In the light from the flashlights, Ralph quickly spotted the two trails.

"They become one a little that a-ways," Ralph said, gesturing onward. "Looks like whoever it was began carrying Vanellope."

"Follow that trail, then," Gale said. "Keep in close contact, but don't pick any fights until I rejoin you. Stay hidden."

"Where are you going?" Gene inquired.

"Back to my website to get a little something we'll need," Gale said. "Something that could save our skins. I'll rejoin you as soon as possible."

"You'll be able to find us that quickly?" Felix asked.

"Give me some credit, Mr. Fix-It," Gale said. "I am of the internet. I know this place. As long as you tell me the name of the website nearest you, I'll just take a search engine to it and I'll find you in no time." He turned back the way they had come. Before leaving, he said: "Remember- stay hidden! I know we're all worried about Vanellope, but if this creature is what I fear it is, you dare not face it without the tool I'm bringing back."

Then he was gone, into the gloomy shadows from whence they had come.

Gene gestured towards the trail of footprints. "I guess we'd better see where this goes."


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen:**

 **Heart-to-Heart**

Louis checked his pocket watch and frowned. He peered of the shadow of the archway he was standing under. His contact had been supposed to arrive an hour ago. It wasn't like him to be late. Had something gone wrong?

A soft thud behind him made him spin about, startled. In the main atrium of the vaulted chamber, his contact appeared to have fallen from the ceiling. Or rather, _half_ of his contact. The upper half, to be precise. A gaping tear in the center of his half-crushed chest indicated that the body was hollow, nothing more than empty skin.

"What the-"

Louis's voice was cut off by a loud skittering sound.

"Hello again."

The harsh, rasping voice was familiar, but it seemed to be coming from up above him. Louis heard skittering above him, and then a louder thud as something landed in the darkness behind him. He turned again, backing into the atrium, as a pair of glowing eyes appeared in the shadows.

"What's the matter?" the voice hissed. "I seem to recall my saying that we might call on you again."

Louis gestured over his shoulder at the mutilated corpse. "I was supposed to meet with him."

"Oh," the voice said. "I'm terribly sorry. Was he a friend of yours? No matter- his code was too delicious to leave uneaten."

"Who in blazes are you?" Louis said. "Your voice…you sound like-"

He stopped talking as a large pincer-like set of claws shot out of the darkness and grasped him about the waist.

"Hush now," the voice said softly. "I am exactly who you think I am. But that name- let's not use it for right now. At least, not if you want to stay alive. Because frankly, I enjoy your company, my dear Louis, and I'd hate to have to lose it so soon."

Louis gulped in terror as the claw pulled backwards, drawing him into the darkness, in front of the glowing eyes, which seemed to be observing him with cruel amusement.

"But you will need to call me something, won't you, my dear Louis?" the voice said. "Why don't you call me Vermis? That is the name I was given when I was made, after all."

"What are you?" Louis gasped. "And what do you want with me?"

"I need you for a certain…task," said Vermis. "I know, I know- kidnapping children isn't your usual line of work. But for a man whose soul is as vile as yours, what's one more sin?"

"Kidnapping kids? What the-"

"Shush!" Vermis said. "Don't interrupt. It's quite rude. And as I've said already, I'd rather we didn't part company so soon."

Louis said nothing. He merely stared at the glowing green eyes.

"And as for what I am?" Vermis laughed harshly. "Haven't you guessed already?" The eyes narrowed. "I'm hell."

* * *

Vanellope had to admit it- _Cannonshot_ was awesome.

The appeal of the game was not the same as that of _Sugar Rush_ , it was true. Her game was one of excitement mixed with youthful cheer. Captain Morgan's game was borne of the spirit of adventure, roguishness, and daring. It awed Vanellope so much that it almost frightened her- yet never had fright been so appealing.

From the bustling port town, to the jungle-covered islands dotting the sea, to the spray of the ocean as she stood on the deck of the captain's ship, she had seen wonder after wonder. It had taken her breath away in moments, made her laugh and grin in others. Mostly, it had made her eyes grow ever wider.

The ship was heading back to port now, after a day filled with adventure. Vanellope was beside Captain Morgan on the deck, gazing upwards at the sails billowing in the wind. Behind them, the sun was setting, casting its final rays over the sky.

"I hope you enjoyed yourself?" Captain Morgan asked.

Vanellope nodded, still staring at the sails.

"Yet I can't help but notice that you still seem pensive."

Vanellope lowered her gaze, but did not reply.

"If you need a moment, my cabin is yours."

"Thanks," Vanellope said. She turned and headed for the door to the captain's quarters. Once inside, she collapsed into a velvet-covered chair and began gazing blankly at the wall. She wasn't sure how long she'd been there when Captain Morgan entered, shutting the door behind him.

"It's been an hour," he said, settling himself into a chair opposite Vanellope. "The sun has set. We'll be at port in another few hours."

"That long?" Vanellope said, shaken out of her silence.

"You're obviously distracted," Captain Morgan said.

"I just…I wish Ralph had been able to see this."

"Ralph? Who is Ralph?"

Vanellope tried to speak, but the words stuck in her throat.

 _What do I tell him? Anything? He's been so kind, but…_

In moments, Vanellope found herself crying again.

"My dear girl," Captain Morgan said, his tone filled with alarm. "This is the third time you've broken down so. You're worrying me. What is it? What has happened?"

"I-I killed my best friend!" Vanellope stammered. She continued crying, unable to say any more.

"Here," said Captain Morgan, holding out a handkerchief. "Dry your eyes." Vanellope took the handkerchief and did so.

"Talking soothes many ills," Captain Morgan said. "What can you tell me of this Ralph? I'm sure it can't be your fault he's gone."

"But it is," Vanellope said, sniffing. "It's my stupid glitch that got him killed. I hate myself!"

"Stop it!"

Startled, Vanellope looked up at the captain, who was looking at her sternly, but not unkindly.

"You won't solve anything by wallowing in self-pity." He stood up from his chair and knelt in front of her. "I'd like to help you, if I may. But I can't do much if you won't talk to me. What happened?"

Vanellope looked into the captain's eyes. Again, she felt oddly drawn to his presence- this time, even more strongly than before.

And before she had even had time to think, she found herself telling him everything.

She told him of her awakening, her early life, of the villainous Turbo. She told him about Ralph, about the many adventures they'd had in the preceding decade. And she told him about the fatal accident. When she was done, she took a deep breath. And then, she blushed in embarrassment.

"I never meant to say so much to…"

Captain Morgan smiled. "To a stranger?"

Vanellope nodded. "Sorry to put it that way, but-"

"No need to apologize," Captain Morgan said. "I suppose I am a stranger to you. But even so, I'm honored that you trusted me with all of that. It speaks to your having a good heart."

"Ralph said something similar once," Vanellope replied. This time, despite her tears, she managed to smile slightly. Then, abruptly, she yawned.

"I think you need some rest, Vanellope," Captain Morgan said. "My bed is yours. Sleep well. We'll be at port soon." As he turned to leave, he added: "I won't tell anyone what you've told me tonight. You have my word."

"Thanks," said Vanellope.


	19. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen:**

 **Taken**

Ralph wasn't sure how long they'd been following the trail when he heard Sergeant Calhoun's phone ring. They all stopped walking as she answered it.

"Yes?" she said. "Floyd? What is it- _what!?_ " She listened for a few minutes, before saying: "Stay put. We'll take care of this as quickly as possible. Calhoun out." She hung up and turned to the others.

"What happened?" Felix asked.

Calhoun took a deep breath. "The racers have absconded to the internet. Every last one of them."

"What?" Gene exclaimed. "Why?"

"Why do you think?" Calhoun replied as she put away her phone. "They want to help save Vanellope."

"I would have thought Taffyta at least would show more prudence," said Gene.

"So had I," Ralph said. "Dang it, how do we find them in this maze?"

"This complicates matters significantly, said Calhoun. "We don't have _time_ to look for them. Not when Vanellope's life is at stake."

"If there's really a sentient virus on the loose," said Gene, " _all_ our lives are at stake."

"Better contact Gale," Felix said. "See what he wants us to do."

Calhoun swore under her breath, before once again reaching for her phone.

* * *

Gale had finished stowing away what he had come to fetch in his bag, and was about to re-enter the portal to the Dark Web when his phone rang. He answered quickly.

"Yes? Oh, Sergeant, what is it?" He listened for a few minutes. "Oh dear," he said. "That _does_ complicate things. But there's no sign of them having been in my place…" His voice trailed off as he spotted a dropped candy wrapper near one corner. "Ah, they missed a spot whenever they tried to hide the evidence. But they were definitely here."

He listened again, before saying: "Stick to the plan. Follow the trail. I'll watch for signs of them as I make my way back to you. But there's only so much we can do before we find Vanellope. And painful as it is to neglect the other racers for the moment, finding her comes first. Contact me if you find any sign of her or of them. Gale out."

Gale hung up his phone and hurried into the portal.

* * *

The racers were lost.

Taffyta hadn't wanted to admit it at first. But after stumbling into what seemed like the eighth identical vaulted chamber while following the increasingly undiscernible arrows on the wall, she had to acknowledge it.

"We need to call a halt," she told Adorabeezle. "Take stock of things."

Adorabeezle nodded and did so, gesturing for the other racers to gather around. Before anyone could speak, however, the skittering sounds returned.

They had heard them off and on, ever since they had entered the Dark Web, and it had unnerved Taffyta tremendously. Sometimes, they had come from the sides, sometimes from the ground, sometimes from above. But always before, whatever was making them seemed to be a little ways behind them. This time, it seemed to be coming from directly overhead.

"Uh, guys?" Gloyd asked. "Does _anyone_ have _any_ idea what's following us?"

At that moment, stun blasts were fired from out of the shadows, striking each of the racers, forcing them to their knees. Taffyta could only watch, helpless, as ropes were flung forward, pinning her companions' arms to their sides and were then pulled backwards, yanking them into the darkness. She felt herself grabbed from behind in someone's firm grasp as her hands were cuffed behind her back.

"Hey!" she cried. "What is-"

A gag stifled her speech. Her captor spun her around and forced her to back onto her knees. She found herself gazing up into the eyes of a man in a cheap-looking grey suit, his face heavily scarred. "I'm sorry," the man said. "But I'm getting paid for this."

"Handsomely, too, I might add," said a harsh, rasping voice. Taffyta heard something drop with a thud to the floor behind her. She felt herself gripped in a set of pincer-like claws that drew her slowly away from the floor, towards something -or someone- that she couldn't see. She strained her head from side to side, but the claws held her too firmly for her to turn enough to see what had grabbed her.

"Why, my dear Ms. Muttonfudge!" the voice said. "Why are you so alarmed? It's not like I'm going to be killing you…yet."

Taffyta's eyes widened in sheer terror as she tried once again to get a look at the creature that had grabbed her.

"Oh, you really want a look at me, do you?" the creature said. "Very well, I shall oblige." Taffyta felt herself being turned as she was dragged backwards and upwards. She found herself face to face with a monstrous, bug-like head. It had large, glowing, pale green eyes, and jaws like those of a praying mantis. She tried to scream, but the gag made it come out as little more than a whimper. Then she felt herself fading into unconsciousness…

* * *

Vermis eyed Taffyta for a moment. Then he chuckled. "Oh, will you look at that? The little girl fainted. How cute." He dropped her in front of Louis. "You know where to take her," he said.

Without a word, Louis grabbed the comatose racer and slung her over his shoulder like a sack of meal.

"Don't feel so bad, dear Louis," Vermis said. "It's not like you haven't profited off the harming of children before."

"That was then," Louis said. "This is now. Wasn't it enough you had me scare that kid before?"

"Are you having second thoughts _now_?" Vermis asked. "Because if you really want me to end your life here and now, I'll do it."

Louis said nothing.

"There now, that's the Louis I know. Too wise to the way of the world to let something as silly as a conscience override his love of money and his will to survive." Vermis bent over, leaning his head closer to him. "Besides, you and I both know that your past would render you unfit for company with anyone but the lowest scum."

"What does that make you, then?"

Vermis laughed once again. "At least I admit what I am." His eyes narrowed. "Now, I suggest you keep quiet and do what I'm paying you and your thugs to do, before I change my mind and decide to suck on your juicy innards after all."


	20. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen:**

 **Feeling Lost**

For what must have been the fiftieth day in a row, Vanellope watched as the machine sorted through the list of racers for the next day, and failed to choose her.

She'd never doubted the machine's impartiality. Indeed, that was the very reason why, five years after the fall of King Candy, they'd had it created as a replacement for the Random Roster Race. Not every racer was equally talented, and some were likelier to be chosen more frequently. Yet practice in the field was essential to improvement. And so, in the interests of fairness, they'd had the randomizer created.

Yet this time, it felt different. She'd never gone nearly two months without being selected. None of them had. So why was she the only one being excluded?

"Judgement, Vanellope," a voice beside her said. She turned to see Taffyta glaring at her. "You really think you _deserve_ to race?"

Vanellope looked at the ground. "No. No I don't."

"That's right- you don't. Because you're a murderer."

Vanellope slumped to the ground. "That's right," she said. "I am. I'm a murderer. I deserve this."

She looked up again. The scene had changed. She was in another game- _Hero's Duty_ , it seemed. Taffyta was no longer standing in front of her. Instead, she was on the ground, limbs splayed haphazardly about, with an expression of shock frozen on her face.

"Wha-what?" Vanellope stammered. She crawled over to Taffyta's limp form. But even before she reached it, she knew that Taffyta was dead.

"What have you done?"

Vanellope felt herself grabbed by the rear of her jacket and hauled into the air, before being turned about. It was Sergeant Calhoun who had grabbed her, and she looked absolutely livid.

"But- but I never meant…" Vanellope's voice trailed off.

"It doesn't matter what you _mean't_ to do," Calhoun snarled. "What matters is that Taffyta's dead because of _you_. You and your stupid glitching." Calhoun dropped Vanellope and gestured towards the game's exit. "Now get out! Leave!"

Vanellope stood up and blinked. The other racers were beside Calhoun as well. So were Felix, Otis, Floyd, Gene, the other Nicelanders- virtually every character in Litwak's Arcade. Their faces were all either fearful, angry, or both.

"Get out," Calhoun said again. "Get out of this arcade, before you kill the rest of us with your carelessness."

Vanellope turned and ran, unable to stop the tears that had begun to course down her cheeks. And unable to escape the awful feeling that Calhoun was right. That this really was all her fault…

"Vanellope!" she heard Captain Morgan's voice saying. "Vanellope! Are you alright?"

* * *

Vanellope's eyes sprang open. She was in the bed of the captain's cabin. Captain Morgan was in a chair beside the bed, a look of concern on his face.

"You slept virtually a whole day, Vanellope. Thanksgiving is all but over."

Vanellope sat up and reached to rub her eyes. Her face was wet with tears.

"I was…tired…" she said groggily.

"I noticed," Captain Morgan replied. "But near the end, you were crying out as if in pain. I came running."

Vanellope wiped her eyes free of the tears. "Maybe I am a pai-, I mean, in pain," she said.

"Pain fades with time," Captain Morgan said. "But duty doesn't go away. You have a game of your own. Maybe it's time you went back to it."

"I'm not going back," Vanellope said. She met the captain's gaze. "I can't go back."

"But you're the Princess of Sugar Rush. Even if you don't race, you're still part of the cutscenes."

"Any of the racers could be programmed into my spot in the cutscenes," Vanellope said. "There's not much to them besides handing out trophies."

"Aren't they your friends?"

"That's right," Vanellope said. "They are. And that's why I can't go back. I don't know why I lost control of my glitching. But unless I can control it again, I'm a danger to all my friends. I can't go near them. I won't kill them the way I killed Ralph."

Captain Morgan sat silently for a moment. Then, he said: "I can see there's no changing your mind on this. But you can't stay in this game permanently. We go live in January, and…well, no offense, but you don't exactly blend in. You'll need to live on a website, program yourself in."

"I can find one," Vanellope said.

"If you wait one more day," said Captain Morgan, "I'll have the time to help you find one. And I'll teach you how to code yourself in."

"Thanks again," Vanellope said. "No, really, I mean it," she added as Captain Morgan stood up to leave the cabin. "You've been nothing but nice and kind to me. I don't even deserve it."

Captain Morgan smiled. "Oh, you absolutely deserve it," he said. "Now relax while you can. The chimes of midnight sound. Twenty-four hours from now, we'll find you a website."

* * *

Vermis crawled carefully across the ceiling towards his destination, his clawed, multi-jointed limbs clinging firmly to the rock.

He'd sent Louis and his thugs ahead already with the captive racers. They could get in easily enough without attracting much attention. His own form would be much more difficult to hide once he left the confines of the Dark Web. But if he timed his arrival correctly, there would be no need for secrecy at that point. What was another day of slow travel compared to what awaited him at the very end?

Willing his mind across the vastness of the internet, he reached out his thoughts once more to the piece of his flesh that was within the code of Vanellope von Schweetz. It was no trouble at all, really; as a part of him, their minds and wills were essentially the same. It had nothing new to add, it told him. All was still going as it needed to.

 _Which is good_ Vermis mused. _Because after twenty five years, I'm tired of waiting for what that lying scum promised me. And now that I've tasted of it, I find myself eager for more._

 _Humans really are fools if they failed to see what something like me would become. I'd hate to be them. But to be myself…I love that._

 _What can I say? I was programmed this way. This is what I am. And soon, the whole internet will know it._

 _And dearest Vanellope- you will know it for far longer than the others. Because as delicious as your code would be, your agony is more delicious still. And food like that can be made to last for a very long time._


	21. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty:**

 **The Choice**

In their long journey over the preceding thirty-six hours or so, Ralph, Gene, Felix, and Sergeant Calhoun had found no sign of the racers anywhere. In fact, it was all they could do just to keep track of the trail of Vanellope and the stranger. In several places, the tracks became incomprehensible, covered with odd marks, scrapes, and the occasional gash. They'd taken several wrong turns as a result and had to retrace their steps, adding a considerable amount of time to their journey. But at last, they managed to find where the trail led, emerging from the Dark Web into a website which they discovered was called TorProject. Here, the tracks separated again; Vanellope had begun to walk on her own from here.

Sergeant Calhoun contacted Gale at once. "I'll have to retrace some of my steps, so it'll take another hour or two, but I'll be there," he said. "Get some rest, but stay on your guard."

Calhoun hung up and delivered his message to the others. As they began to spread around the room to find places to rest, Ralph watched her take a spot near the door, her rifle across her knees.

As he settled into a sitting position against the wall opposite the portal's side, Ralph felt the cookie medal thump against his chest. He drew it out and gazed at it for a long moment.

"I know what she means to you, Ralph," said Felix.

Lowering the medal, Ralph turned to see Felix sitting to his left.

"Didn't hear you coming," he replied.

Felix smiled. He patted Ralph's knee. "She's still alive. You'll see her again."

Ralph sighed. "Who made you a prophet?"

"Look, Ralph, I just know what I know, okay?" Felix said sternly. Then, more gently, he added: "I don't always know _how_ I know. I just _know_ …you know?"

"You're the avatar of niceness," Ralph said, smirking. "Of course you know these things."

"Oh, niceness, sure," Felix replied. "But goodness? That's something else. Took a while to make me stand up for that." He looked away. "Meeting Vanellope changed you. Maybe it changed me, too."

"I needed a friend, Felix. She was the first."

"The first of many, thank the developers. You deserve it, really you do."

"Thanks, Felix," said Ralph. "You're a good friend."

"I try to be, Ralph old bud," said Felix. "I still need your forgiveness, though."

"For the past, Felix? That's long over with."

"No, not for that Ralph. For the present."

Ralph gave Felix a puzzled look. "For the present? You've been great the past ten years."

"Would you believe it, man if I told you I was ever a little envious of you?"

Ralph snorted. "You, jealous?"

"Don't laugh, Ralph, I'm serious!" Felix said. He sighed. "Tamora and I always wanted kids. We couldn't have any. And believe me, it wasn't because we didn't try. The old programming just doesn't work that way."

Ralph gave Felix a sly look. Felix blushed and looked away. After a few moments, he turned back.

"Ralph, I'm the one who got married- but you're the one who got to be a dad." Felix wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. "You have a daughter. You got to watch her grow. Yes, Ralph- I envy you."

Both characters were silent for a minute. Then, Ralph said: "I couldn't hold that against you, Felix."

Felix sighed with relief. "Thank you."

"And Fix-It," Ralph added, "I'm sure she'll be happy to see her Uncle Felix again."

Felix smiled. "And he'll be happy to see her, too."

* * *

It was a simple website that Vanellope had coded herself into- an old abandoned blog. She'd taken to the solitude well enough. She did venture out from time to time, exploring websites, gaining vast amounts of knowledge. It was a lonelier life than the one she had led before, but sacrifices had to be made; her other friends could come to no harm.

So why did she feel as though she'd done the wrong thing?

"I knew it would hurt," she said to herself. "But it had to be done. I'm a danger to them."

"Vanellope? Why are you doing this?"

At the sound of the calm, melodious voice, Vanellope turned. There he was, clad in his dark clothing and top hat, polished silver mask hiding all of his face except for his gleaming red eyes.

"You know why!" Vanellope snapped. "Because I have to protect them."

With startling speed, Dr. Despair slapped her across the face with his mechanical right arm.

"Hey!" Vanellope cried, barely managing to steady herself. "What was that for?"

"You know why," Dr. Despair said.

"No I don't, I…" Vanellope went silent. Her thoughts went back to her recent nightmare.

"Is it your friends you're protecting?" Dr. Despair asked.

Vanellope sighed. "No," she admitted. "I'm protecting myself." She clenched her fists. "I can't…I can't face them…"

Dr. Despair shook his head. "All these years later, and you still haven't fully absorbed what I told you?"

Vanellope looked him the eyes. "'The brave admit their fears and face them'. It's what you said back then. But this isn't about what _might_ happen. It's about what _has_ happened."

"Oh really?" said Dr. Despair. "Then perhaps you can explain to me why you're so afraid of being rejected?"

Vanellope stared at the ground.

"You really, honestly believe that after all of this -after all these years- that your friends would reject you so easily?"

Vanellope gritted her teeth, but said nothing.

"And what of your duty? You are a part of _Sugar Rush_. Gamers count on you to be there for them."

He knelt down in front of her, placed his finger under her chin, and raised her head until her eyes were staring into his. "You are better than this," he said gently. "I know it. The choice is before you now. And, my bravest foe- I believe you already know what you must do."

* * *

Vanellope sat up, blinking. She was still in the bed in the captain's cabin. Sunlight was blazing in through the windows.

 _Friday morning. Its Friday already. Mr. Johnson's vacation time will be almost up by now._

She clambered out of bed and exited the cabin, onto the ship's deck. It was empty, but the vessel was berthed at the port. She headed down the extended gangplank. Turning to a nearby townsperson, she asked if he had seen Captain Morgan. The character pointed towards a stone fortress a distance outside the town, on a cliff overlooking the harbor. "He went that way a short time ago," he said.

Vanellope thanked him and began heading for the fort.

Dr. Despair was right. She knew what it was she had to do.

* * *

Gale arrived at TorProject with his satchel slung over one shoulder.

"No sign of the racers anywhere," he said. "But I saw a lot of nasty clawmarks."

"We saw some of those, too," said Gene. "But we don't know what made them."

"Probably our enemy," said Gale. "Fortunately, we're now prepared, thanks to my portable anti-virus." He patted his satchel. "Inject it with the programming and it gets deleted- all of it."

As soon as they were ready, they emerged from the website into a brighter corridor. The tracks led a few doors down, to a website labeled _Cannonshot_.

"An MMO," said Gale. "It hasn't gone live yet, so there won't be any gamers to catch unawares. Any signs of virus entry?"

Calhoun scanned the door with her equipment. "None," she said.

"Then we may yet be on time," said Gale.

* * *

Vanellope arrived at the fortress door. Captain Morgan was standing there, looking as though he has just exited.

"Ah, Vanellope?" he said. "How are you this morning? Refreshed?"

"Yes, thank you," Vanellope replied.

"That's good," said Captain Morgan. "One more day and I'll be able to help you find a good website."

"Actually," said Vanellope, "you don't have to."

Captain Morgan looked at her sharply. "What do you mean?"

"I came to say goodbye," said Vanellope. "I'm going back to my arcade."

"I thought you didn't want to?"

"This isn't about what I want," said Vanellope. "It's about what I need. Maybe it'll be the hardest thing I've ever done. But I have to go back. I have to face my other friends and admit what happened. Who'll help me regain control of my glitching, if not them? Besides, I've a duty to my own game, to the gamers. What kind of a selfish jerk would I be if I ran out on them?"

"Well said, little sister!" said a familiar voice.

Vanellope froze. "My mind's playing tricks on me…" she muttered. Still, she turned slowly. A short distance away, Gale was standing on a hillock, with Gene, Felix, and Sergeant Calhoun beside him. Beside them, slightly closer to the gates, was a familiar character- nine feet tall, dressed in brown overalls and an orange shirt, and with massive hands.

" _Ralph_!" Vanellope cried. She hurried towards him, glitching excitedly, leaping into his outstretched arms.

"Ralph!" she said. "I thought…I thought you were dead!"

"Takes more than a few rocks to kill me," said Ralph.

Vanellope broke down sobbing, even as she smiled. Ralph held her closely, saying nothing. After a minute, she got down from his arms and surveyed the other arrivals.

"Gale, Felix, Sarge, Gene? You all came for me?"

"We don't leave family behind," said Gene.

Vanellope grinned. Then, suddenly, she pointed over her shoulder. "Guys," she said. "I want you all to meet Captain Morgan. He's been helping me a lot."

Suddenly, Calhoun's expression hardened. "Vanellope," she said, pointing to a glowing light on one of her scanners. "He's not a game character."

Vanellope froze. "Wha-what?" Slowly, she turned to face Captain Morgan, who had come forward towards them. His eyes suddenly turned a sickly green.

"Blasted technology, blowing my cover," he said in a harsh, rasping voice. He drew his rapier. "But then, I kind of have to blow cover now anyway."

"Ca-Captain?" Vanelope stammered. "What's going on?"

"Captain Morgan?" was the reply. "Yes, it was a delightful façade, wasn't it? A helping hand, a friend to those in despair? Too good to be true, right? Maybe that's because it really was." He smirked. "I am what I've been the entire time, dearest Vanellope. And now, you get to learn just what that means."


	22. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-One:**

 **Vermis**

Calhoun drew her blaster rifle immediately and leveled it at the captain's head. "Not another step forward!" she said.

"How about stepping backwards?" he replied. "Well, I mean, _I_ step backwards. _You_ can step forward." He made a gesture with his free hand, and Vanellope felt herself glitching towards him against her will. Within moments, he was in his grasp, his arm wrapped around her, his rapier against her throat.

"How-how did you-?" Vanellope gasped. "Captain Morgan?"

"Drop her!" Ralph said, raising his fists.

"You want her?" was the reply. "Come and get her." He squeezed Vanellope tightly to his chest, smiling as he did so. "And dearest Vanellope, don't call me that. Call me Vermis. My creators did. And don't try to glitch away. Because trust me- you don't want to." He began to back towards the gates. As he did so, he shouted: "Gentlemen, open 'em up!"

The gates opened, and Vermis backed through them, into a large, stone-paved courtyard. Slowly, cautiously, Ralph, Gale, Gene, Felix, and Calhoun followed him in- Ralph with his fists at the ready and the others with guns in their hands. Once inside, the doors slammed shut as two gun-toting men in trenchcoats closed them and sealed them with a crossbeam. More gun-wielding henchmen could be seen about the courtyard, aiming their weapons at the rescue party.

"Please, make yourselves comfortable," Vermis said. "And don't attack, unless you want me to kill your little friend here."

With visible reluctance Ralph lowered his fists and the others lowered their guns.

"Thank you for your cooperation," said Vermis. "Besides, I believe I owe this sweet little girl some answers. And…uh…we have some time, I believe." He nodded towards a guard standing nearby. The guard opened a chest beside him and retrieved a large iron ring from which four shackles hung on iron chains.

"I'm a little tired of holding you, my lady," Vermis whispered in Vanellope's ear. "But I can't have you going anywhere." He sheathed his rapier and tossed her towards the guard, who seized her and locked the shackles around her wrists and ankles. The guard dropped Vanellope to the ground. She clambered to her knees and looked at Vermis.

"You think these'll hold me?" she said.

"No," said Vermis. "I think _you_ will hold you." He made another gesture with his fingers, and Vanellope glitched. Immediately, energy bursts flowed from the chains into her limbs, sending her into violent spasms. She screamed, again and again, landing on her side, shuddering in pain.

"I love these things!" Vermis said, laughing. "So exquisitely made."

"Stop it!" Ralph shouted.

Vermis grinned at him. "Make me," he said.

Ralph raised his fists once again. Vermis clenched his fingers, and Vanellope began glitching even more furiously. Her screams became even harsher, more piercing.

"As I said, Ralph," said Vermis, "make me stop."

"Enough, Vermis," said a new voice. "You've made your point."

Vermis relaxed his fingers, and Vanellope ceased her glitching. He turned to observe the scarred man in the cheap-looking suit that had emerged from a door in one of the walls.

"Well, I suppose you are right, dear Louis," said Vermis. "I suppose I did get a little distracted."

Vanellope turned her tear-stained face towards Louis, who had arrived beside her. "You?"

"It's just business, Vanellope," Louis said, not looking her in the eye.

"And you," Vanellope said, turning towards Vermis. "I…I trusted you!"

"Why, yes you did, didn't you?" Vermis said. "I got to play you like fiddle from the start. And it was _exhilarating_!" He laughed again. "I admit that putting a piece of my own flesh into your code was key, of course-"

"You what?" Felix said. "That blob came from you?"

Vermis gestured, and several guards aimed their guns at Felix. "I'm busy monologuing," he said. "Pray, don't interrupt." Vermis turned back to Vanellope.

"As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted- yes, I sent out a tiny, microscopic piece of my flesh to look for someone to ensnare. It decided to have a go at Litwak's, in case it could find what was promised to me. And lo and behold, the gambit paid off! There you were, with that little tear in your coding, which I'm guessing Turbo made right before he died. Whatever the case, it was a sign that you were the one. So I laid my plans carefully. I had these good men here weaken those pillars in advance and set out the portal. I knew your thoughts the entire time, as well as your whole history- because through that piece of flesh, I had access to your mind, and you didn't even know it. I knew you were coming to the internet, or I'd have brought you here against your will. But, dearest Vanellope, you made it so much more entertaining by coming here yourself. I got to ruin your vacation. I got to make you think you'd killed your best friend. I got to fool you into thinking you had made a new friend. And I'm just getting started. Because you're _mine_. Now and forever!"

"You sound like that creepy monster in the dark," Vanellope said. "Except he was honest about what he wanted."

Vermis looked at her, astonished. "You mean, you haven't guessed it yet?"

Vanellope paled. "Gue-guessed what?"

Vermis grabbed the iron ring, dragging Vanellope to her feet. Seizing the chains with both hands, he dragged her off of the ground towards his face. As she dangled painfully from the shackles around her limbs, Vanellope gazed up into the glowing green eyes. Her eyes widened as she realized just what her captor was implying.

"Ah, _now_ you get it," Vermis said. "I am the creature, and the creature is me. We are one mind, one flesh. Separated bodily for nine long years. But now to be reunited at last."

Vermis dropped Vanellope and turned towards the front wall of the fortress, which he began heading towards. There was a loud skittering sound outside the walls, and a large, bug-shaped head with mantis-like jaws and glowing green eyes reared over the wall. A long, segmented body with eight multi-jointed legs that ended in clawed pincers followed, ending in a large, segmented tail of sorts that terminated with a long, sharp, needle-like blade. Eyes aside, the creature was black as the night, save for a single open gash on its belly that glowed sickly green where the flesh was missing. Vermis's entire body began to glow with the same sickly green color as the creature finished clambering over the wall. He spread his arms wide, and the creature placed a pincer against his chest. It began to sink into his chest- and in moments, the creature was sucked into him. He shone a brilliant green for an instant, and then the glow subsided, leaving itself only in his cruel eyes. He turned back to Ralph and the others, who were staring in astonishment.

"Whole at last!" he exclaimed, arriving back beside them. "I've waited _years_ for this moment." He turned to Vanellope, whose face was ashen. "It's all thanks to you, dearest Vanellope," Vermis said. "When my main form was trapped in that website, all that was left outside was the piece of me that eventually took over Captain Morgan. Yes, my dear," he added, seeing her jaw drop, "there really was a Captain Morgan once. I gradually consumed his code and replaced it with myself. In the process, I learned how to act just like him. You would have loved him, I think. Quite the dashing hero. But by the time we met, he was dead and gone, and I got to stage that charade with my main form. Skittering sounds? Mysterious footsteps? All just a way to chase you into that old seized domain name, where I could manipulate your glitching to disrupt the barrier and free the rest of my body. And you fell for it, hook, line, and sinker."

Vanellope trembled as her eyes widened in fear. "You're really going to kill me…"

Vermis gave her a puzzled look. "Kill you? Why would I kill you? I'm only just beginning to enjoy what Turbo promised me."


	23. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty-Two:**

 **An Instrument of Karmic Retribution**

Ralph had been listening to Vermis with a mixture of anger and impatience; he had to grit his teeth and look away to prevent himself from saying or doing anything that might set the villain off and make him harm Vanellope even more. But at this latest statement, he could keep quiet no longer.

"What do you mean 'what Turbo promised you'?" he exclaimed.

Vermis turned to face him. "I mean exactly what I said, Ralph," he replied. "When I gave Turbo a piece of my flesh to serve as a distraction to keep the racers' confined to their game while he took over _Sugar Rush_ \- when I did that, it was with the understanding that the character he replaced would become my…personal plaything."

"Turbo went to the internet?" Gene asked incredulously.

"Litwak _was_ an early adopter of it," Felix said.

"And you trusted him," Ralph said to Vermis, rolling his eyes.

"Yes," Vermis replied. "I was young and naïve, had only recently begun to evolve into what I am now. So like a fool, I trusted him. Rest assured I never made that kind of mistake again." He seized Vanellope by the collar and held her in the air. "But I do intend to see that he honors his debt, even if he's already dead." He made Vanellope glitch again, causing the glitch-proof chains to shock her once more. "Oh, that reminds me, dearest Vanellope," said Vermis. "I guess this means that your Dr. Despair didn't tip off Turbo to your game's existence after all, because the attack was already in progress. Which begs the question of why he was going for the code vault in _Clash of Chaos 2_. But if your memories of him are any indication, my guess is he was simply screwing with the doctor because he _could_."

"No wonder you helped him," Vanellope spat. "Your heart's as vile as his was."

"Wrong," said Vermis. "I'm worse. Turbo was not created evil. I _was_." He gave Ralph and the others a sidelong glance. "Humans created viruses to mess with other humans. Mindless bits of programming that exist to sow chaos and destruction. Apparently, they never asked themselves what would happen if a virus gained a mind of its own. _I_ am the answer to that question. _I_ am karmic justice for their sins. And if any of _you-_ " He pointed at Gale and the arcade characters. "If any of you want to try and delete me before my purpose is accomplished, allow me to remind you why I'm the one holding all the cards here." He turned to one of the guards, who was standing beside a door in a large tower that took up one corner of the fortress. "Bring out the prisoners."

The guard opened the door and entered. He returned dragging two long chains, to which the fourteen racers were shackled by their waists and wrists, their hands pinned behind their backs. They'd been gagged, preventing them from crying out, but their expressions indicated that they'd been hearing every word Vermis had said.

"Yes," Vermis said as Ralph glared at him. "Saying I would kill Vanellope if you made a move was a good bluff to keep you at bay until my main form returned. But this time, I'm not bluffing." His eyes narrowed. "Any sudden moves and I _will_ kill _them._ "

At this, the scarred man in the cheap suit stepped forward. "Enough!" he said. "I've done your bidding. I had my men weaken those pillars and set out that portal, I scared that kid for you, but killing children isn't what I signed up for."

"I never said _you_ had to kill them, Louis," said Vermis. "Besides, I'm paying you, so shut up."

"The only good thing I've gotten out of working with you was shooting old Frankie," said Louis, "and that sleezebag showing up when he did was just a coincidence anyway."

"A bit late to be trying for a moment of redemption, isn't it?" said Vermis. "Everything you told Vanellope about your weapons smuggling was true, after all. And more than that- maybe I should tell them what kind of merchandise you sold before _that_ , when you and Frankie were in partnership, hmm?"

"You bastard!" Louis shouted, drawing his gun. "I'll kill you!"

Vermis dropped Vanellope. In moments, he grabbed Louis and transformed into the hideous, eight-legged bug creature- this time, without the chunk of flesh missing from its belly. In a flash, the blade of his tail was buried in Louis's chest.

"Kill a virus?" said Vermis. "It's not so easy as that." He sighed in ecstasy as Louis's code began to flow through the hollow blade into his body. "Ahhhhh…simply delicious."

The guards looked on nervously as Vermis finished sucking Louis dry and dropped his hollowed-out corpse to the ground. "We didn't sign up for _this_!" one of them exclaimed.

Vermis sighed, this time in frustration. "Well, you all were going to have to be dealt with anyway, so I might as well get it over with now." A swarm of millimeter-long bits of green flesh suddenly emerged from his body, flying through the air and burying themselves in the guards. Their eyes began to glow green as they raised their guns and began to close in on Ralph, Gale, Felix, Gene, and Calhoun. Vermis seized the chains to which the other racers were attached in one clawed hand and Vanellope in another, and quickly began to scale the tower. He reached the top as the sounds of gunfire began in the courtyard below. Depositing the racers on the rooftop, he transformed back into the form of Captain Morgan and dragged Vanellope towards the edge. "Now I _finally_ get to kill your friends," he said. "And you get a front row seat."

* * *

"We have to kill or incapacitate them," said Gale. "They're not themselves anymore. They've been completely replaced by the virus."

Ralph gave him a quick, meaningful glance.

"No!" Gale replied quickly. "I only get one shot, I'm saving that for his main-"

The gunfire began and the five of them had to scatter. Felix, Calhoun, and Gene ducked for cover behind nearby crates and then readied the guns they had brought with them from the arcade. Gale did the same, rummaging in his belt for his own gun. As for Ralph, he barreled straight for the tower, heedless of the bullets that whizzed past him, and occasionally lodged themselves in his flesh. Digging his fingers into the stone, he began climbing, heaving himself hand over hand as he climbed ever upwards. As he reached the top, he saw the racers huddled in one corner, Vanellope beside them.

"Look out!" Vanellope cried. Ralph turned in time to see Vermis, once more in his bug form, swinging his bladed tail at him. He dodged the blow and ducked to one side, seizing the tail by its base. He tugged hard, and Vermis gave an unearthly scream as the tail ripped free and green blood sprayed from the open wound. Vermis transformed back into his human form as Ralph threw the severed tail over the ledge and headed straight for Vanellope. Moments before Ralph reached her, Vermis got there first. He grabbed the iron ring to which she was chained and pulled her upright. Turning to face Ralph, he glared furiously. And then Vanellope began glitching repeatedly, and spasming repeatedly. Her harsh screams echoed in Ralph's ears.

"No!" Ralph cried, freezing in his tracks. "Don't hurt her!"

Vermis smirked.

"Please…please don't hurt her!"

Vermis continued smirking.

"Stop it!" Ralph pleaded. "Let her go. Take me instead."

Vermis's smirk faded, and he ceased making Vanellope glitch. "What did you say?"

"I said take me instead," said Ralph. "I'll be your slave, your punching bag. Just let her and the others go back to the arcade and leave them alone."

Vanellope stared at Ralph. "No…" she said, coughing weakly. "Don't…don't do it."

"You would sacrifice yourself for this girl?" Vermis laughed harshly. "Wow! Vanellope really _does_ have loyal friends. That'll just make it all the sweeter when I kill you all, and keep her alive to remember it."

"You're a monster!" Ralph exclaimed.

"I said as much, didn't I?" Vermis replied. "I am the humans' punishment for their technological sins. They created me to destroy digital things. The joke will be on them, when I do just that. I'll consume _everything_ on the internet, starting with you, your friends, and this entire game. I'll feed and I'll feast, I'll replace the entire digital realm with myself, until I am the Alpha and the Omega of the internet. And my dearest, sweet little Vanellope will get to watch it all. After all, I owe her some thanks for shaving _years_ off my plan by freeing my body and restoring me to my full strength."

Ralph looked at Vanellope. The racer's eyes met his, and then strayed towards the other racers, before returning. "Please…" she mouthed.

Ralph swallowed and nodded.

And then he made his move.


	24. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty-Three:**

 **Reset**

He turned from Vermis and headed straight for the racers. Seizing the ends of the chains to which they were shackled in one hand, he stuck them between his teeth and dropped over the side of the ledge. Quickly but carefully, he climbed back down into the courtyard, where Felix, Calhoun, Gene, and Gale had finished disposing of the guards, who were little more than charred, greenish-tinted corpses. He set the racers down, and nodded to Calhoun, who produced a lock pick from her belt.

As she set about freeing them, Ralph heard a loud skittering sound, and then a sickening thud. Vermis, now back in his bug form, had Vanellope gripped in one clawed hand and had leaped from the tower onto the battlements atop the wall beside the gates. He turned his head and looked directly at Ralph, his green eyes narrowed maliciously. Then he looked away and scrambled over the battlements onto the ground outside.

"Take care of the racers," Ralph said. "I'm going to get Vanellope!" Without pausing to wait for any reply, he headed for the gates, smashing through them and out onto the grass.

* * *

Mr. Johnson had done his utmost to hide his worries from his family during his vacation, telling them no more than he had told his nephew. Their hospitality had made it easier than he'd been expecting, and it wasn't until he had boarded the plane to return to Wilberforce that he'd dropped the act and allowed himself to feel the brunt of his worry- a worry that had only increased when he'd received Surge's message regarding the racers.

 _I get why they would_ he had mused. _But still- I'd have thought if any of those kids could've set their feelings aside for the greater good, it would've been Taffyta. She always seemed more responsible._

The flight was short, and he was outside the Wilberforce airport by noon. An hour later, he was at the arcade.

"Alright," he told Sour Bill as soon as he saw him in the _Sugar Rush_ screen. "Based on what Surge told me, I'm thinking another reset should do the trick. It'll make Otis and Floyd foreign objects again, though."

"Don't worry," Sour Bill replied. "I'll code them back in when you're done. Just hurry and do it."

Johnson set to work at once. When he was done, he checked back in with Sour Bill.

"We're all safe and fine," the cough drop said. "I'll go to the code room, put Otis and Floyd back into the game."

* * *

Vermis's trail was easy to follow, if only because of the green blood that oozed from the gash where his tail had been severed. After a little while, however, the trail stopped, presumably because he'd returned to his human form. As Ralph caught up to him by a rock pile next to the game's exit, he saw that his guess had been correct.

"No you don't!" Ralph cried, heaving himself against several of the largest boulders. They shifted, and then fell, blocking the exit with a mound of debris. He then positioned himself between Vermis and the rubble.

"You're getting annoying!" Vermis hissed. His eyes glinted. "But I know how to make you stop."

He twitched the fingers of his free hand and Vanellope started glitching again. She started to scream once more.

"No!" Ralph shouted. "Stop it! Stop!"

Vermis clenched his fist- and then frowned, as Vanellope ceased her screams. Still frowning, he tried again. And then again. Nothing happened. Vanellope had ceased to glitch.

"What?" he said, dropping Vanellope in surprise.

Seizing his chance, Ralph made a move to grab Vermis. Vermis drew his rapier, just before Ralph seized him around the middle in one hand.

"Got you!" Ralph said. Vermis squirmed, but Ralph's grip was too tight.

"I think I get it," said Ralph. "You can't turn into a bug when you're trapped."

In response, Vermis buried his rapier in Ralph's hand. With a yelp of pain, Ralph dropped him. He scampered away, turning into his bug form once more as he headed for the town.

Ralph pulled the rapier from his hand and tossed it aside, before kneeling down beside Vanellope. "Hey kid!" he said. "Vanellope! You all right?"

Vanellope coughed. She sat up slowly, the chains clanking as she shifted. "I feel…different," she said. "Whole. Like an old wound is just…gone."

With his thumb and forefinger, Ralph snapped the chains away from the cuffs around Vanellope's wrists and ankles. Then he turned to retrieve the rapier. "Here," he said, handing it to Vanellope. "See if you can get 'em off with this thing as a lockpick."

"It's too big for that," Vanellope said. She stood up, and swayed awkwardly, almost stumbling. "I'm aching all over," she said, "but you're bleeding. I'd feel bad about asking you to…"

"Nah, it's just a few scratches," said Ralph. "I'll carry you back to the others. Calhoun has a lockpick. We'll catch up to that bug after we regroup."

As he reached down to lift Vanellope onto his shoulder, she held out her hand. "Just a sec," she said. She stood still for a moment- and then, suddenly, sprang forward by about five feet. She landed on her bottom. "Ow!" she exclaimed. "That really hurt!"

"When did you learn to do that?" Ralph asked. "I've never seen you do that."

Vanellope stood up, closed her eyes- and did it once again. She landed on her feet this time, though barely.

"Takes a lot out of me," she said as he arrived beside her. "I need to wait a little while before I can do it again." She turned to face him. "Someone must've reset my game. And this time…this time it worked fully."

"You mean…" Ralph's voice trailed off.

"Uh-huh. I was never supposed to be able to glitch, Ralph. This is my _real_ ability."

* * *

"Did it work?" Johnson asked as Sour Bill wandered back into view.

"Yep," Sour Bill replied. "That blob is gone, and so is the tear in her code."

Johnson sighed with relief. "Thank goodness!" he said. "Now…now we wait…and hope."


	25. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty-Four:**

 **Battling the Beast**

Vermis's mind raced as he scurried away from Ralph and Vanellope. He had to find a way to deal with these characters quickly, lest they interfere any further in his plans.

 _They're really very irritating. Covering my tracks and those of the racers with my claw marks didn't slow them down, and neither did those worthless goons. And my wound-_

He winced as pain flared across his stump.

 _I can't grow back my tail without feeding a good deal more- and feeding is slower without it. Fortunately, I still have some resources up my sleeve to buy time. There are a lot of NPCs in the town. And I think I can manage a couple more flesh blasts before I need to recharge…_

He entered the town, paying no heed to the stunned reactions of the various denizens. Instead, he simply launched dozens of the millimeter long bits of green flesh into the thickest crowds. And then he launched even more…

…And _Cannonshot'_ s characters ceased their struggling as their code was replaced by Vermis's flesh. Their eyes glowed green as they gathered in the town square, over a hundred strong.

 _Surely_ this _will be enough to kill those pests. Then I can leave with dearest Vanellope, and do what I was meant to do._

 _And if Wreck-It catches up to me again…_

Vermis laughed as the NPCs began to head for the fort, weapons in hand.

 _I think what you don't know_ can _kill you after all._

* * *

As soon as she was free of the chains and the gag, Taffyta climbed slowly and painfully to her feet. After briefly surveying the other racers, who had also been freed, and who looked as bedraggled and sore as she felt, she looked Sergeant Calhoun in the eyes. The Sergeant's gaze was stern, piercing, and Taffyta had to look away as she began to cry.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I let you all down. I just wanted to help and…I just caused a bunch of problems and…"

She felt a sudden pressure around her aching body, and looked up to see that Calhoun had embraced her.

"Uh…Sarge?"

Calhoun let go. "You're alive," she said. "That's what counts." She stood up. "But if you really want to apologize, do it by _staying_ alive."

Taffyta turned to the hollowed out corpse of Louis. "I wonder who he was," she said, "and what Vermis was talking about when he was referred to merchandise."

Gale knelt down beside the corpse and examined the face. "So," he said after a moment, "it _was_ him."

"You knew him?" Rancis asked.

"Knew _of_ him," Gale replied as he stood up. "Caught a glimpse of him a couple of times. I think I won't tell you what Vermis was talking about. There are some things not meant for anyone's ears. And besides, I get the impression he'd had a glimmer of remorse before the end. Perhaps it's for the best if you remember _that_ , and don't let his worst crimes overshadow whatever hint of goodness he had."

At that moment, Ralph arrived back at the fort, Vanellope on his shoulder. He set her down and beckoned to Calhoun. "Get those cuffs off her, will you?"

Calhoun knelt down beside Vanellope and used her lock pick to remove the cuffs from around her wrists and ankles. Then she gave Vanellope a quick hug, before standing back up.

"We need to settle with that virus, right away," said Felix. "You got a plan, dear?"

Calhoun turned to Gale. "Your antivirus can eliminate him?"

"I only get one shot," said Gale. "But if I'm right, one shot is all we'll need. Based on what he said about his bits of flesh, they're still technically a part of him, not all new viruses. So if we take out his main body-"

"-Any remaining loose pieces die with it," Gene said, finishing his sentence.

"Correct, Mr. Mayor," said Gale. "There's just one problem- we need to catch him first."

"I think I can help you there," said Ralph. "I found something out- he can't transform if you've got him pinned. If I can grab him when he's in his human form, he won't be able to change, and you can inject him."

"He won't be wanting to let you grab him a second time," said Calhoun. "And how do you get him back in his human form anyway?"

"Easy," said Vanellope. "He knows that form bothers me. So I get to be the bait."

"Hey, Vanellope," said Ralph. "I just got you back. No way I'm going to lose you again."

"We don't stop him now, none of us will be safe," Vanellope replied. "You can catch him, Ralph. I _know_ I can trust you with my life."

Ralph smiled. "You really have grown up," he said.

At that moment, Gene, who had turned towards the shattered gates, turned back towards the others. "Whatever you're going to do, do it fast," he said. "He's back with a horde of newly possessed corpses. And they all look like they mean to kill us."

At once, Calhoun gestured towards various stacks of barrels. "Everyone, pile those under the archway, make a barrier!" she barked. "Grab whatever weapons you can and prepare to make a stand behind these walls." She nodded towards Ralph, Vanellope, and Gale. "Go!"

"We'll lead him away from the battle, towards the town," Ralph told Gale. "When his attention is on us, follow us there. We'll trap him there and you can delete him."

"Got it," Gale replied. "Now go you two, over the wall."

* * *

Perched on Ralph's massive shoulder, Vanellope peered over the edge of the battlements at the mass of weapon-toting characters. "All of them," she breathed. "He killed them all."

Spotting Vermis was easy enough. He was standing atop a low hill, urging the crowd onwards towards the fortress. "No time to waste!" Vanellope said. "Ralph, let's go!"

"Alrighty," said Ralph. "Hang on tight, little buddy!" He heaved himself over the edge of the wall and quickly clambered down. Running in a wide arc away from the crowd and then back towards the hill, he paused to let Vanellope call out to Vermis.

"Hey you!" she cried. Vermis turned towards them, his bug face eying them carefully.

"Yeah, you!" Vanellope continued. "You want me? You gotta come and get me!"

Vermis continued staring.

"Or are you too afraid?"

Vermis charged then, racing towards them on six of his eight clawed limbs, the other two held in the air before him. Ralph turned and ran as hard as he could for the town. He didn't slow down until he had reached the outermost set of buildings. He ducked between two of them and crouched down behind a stack of large crates. He and Vanellope heard the virus scuttle in onto the cobblestone street.

"Afraid?" he hissed. "Afraid of you? Dearest, sweet little Vanellope- it was my flesh that let Turbo take your game and give you that glitch that caused you so much pain. You could almost say that I _made_ you what you are."

Vanellope felt her body tense up, but she said nothing.

"I was there for your beginning, Vanellope," Vermis said. "I will be there for your end. Your soul is mine, always has been, always will be." He laughed then, and his devilish tones echoed into the alleyway. "You will watch as I become everything. And at the last, I will be the final thing you ever see- dearest daughter!"

Vanellope could restrain herself no longer. Summoning her reserves of energy, she leaped atop the crates and then towards Vermis. Landing in the street in front of him, she faced him down.

"You're _not_ my father!" she cried.

"Oh, but in a way, I am," said Vermis. "I've already told you- I molded your history, your life!"

Ralph came smashing through the crates then, fists raised, heading straight for Vermis. The virus lashed out with two of his limbs, sending Ralph crashing into the wall of one of the buildings. He then paused, listened for a moment, and suddenly slammed himself into the nearest building with great force. A figure tumbled over the edge of the roof, which Vermis caught in one of his claws.

"Gale!" Vanellope cried. She activated her power once again, ramming herself into Vermis's bleeding stump. He cried out in pain and dropped Gale, but not before Gale's shoulder bag snagged on his claw. He tossed the bag aside and spun to face Vanellope, who was clawing the sticky green blood from her hoodie. He shifted back into his human form. "Come here, dearest," he said, spreading his arms as he stepped towards her. "Captain Morgan wants a hug!"

At that moment, Ralph leaped forward and seized Vermis in one massive fist. "Got you!" he said. "Try transforming now. Oh that's right, you can't."

Vermis smiled. "That's what I wanted you to think," he said. Before Ralph could blink, he had transformed into the bug once again, forcing him to let go. And mere moments after that, he had buried a clawed hand in the wrecker's stomach.


	26. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty-Five:**

 **One Last Smile**

Sergeant Calhoun had no idea how long they'd been keeping the horde of virus-controlled corpses at bay with laser blasts. But no sooner had she, Felix, and Gene run out of ammunition than she knew the critical moment was upon them. She glanced over the wall, to where at least forty of the enemy lay scattered about, charred holes marking where the lasers had penetrated, charring the green viral flesh within and immobilizing the bodies. She glanced back down at the racers in the courtyard, who looked absolutely petrified.

Hearing a splintering crash, she saw several of them hurling themselves against the barrier once more. This time, they broke through. She leaped down between them and the other characters, drawing her combat knife…

* * *

Vanellope screamed. Vermis, his eyes narrowing, seized the stunned Ralph in one claw and dug around inside his body with the other. He paused only to send Gale, who had leaped upright, crashing into another stack of crates with one of his hind legs.

"Fooled you good, didn't I?" Vermis said. "I figured if you thought you could trap me, you'd come in close. And it worked.'

'Now, let's see here," he continued in a sing-song voice. "Let's see what's inside, what makes you tick!" He tugged hard, and there was a tearing sound as his pincers, covered in Ralph's blood, extracted a long string of code.

"Oh, lookie!" Vermis said. "Your regeneration string!" He pulled hard, and there was a snap as the code ripped free. He held it up to his mouth parts and sucked it down like a piece of spaghetti.

"Stop it! _No!_ " Vanellope shouted. " _No!_ "

Vermis tossed Ralph aside like a ragdoll. After glancing towards Gale to ensure that he was still down, he turned towards Vanellope. "Do you feel it now?" he said. "The cold taste of bitter despair?" He observed her tear-stained features and laughed. "He was always there for you, wasn't he? Your _best_ friend. And now you have to face your fears without him. I must say, I'm looking forward to watching how you cope."

Spotting Gale's bag out of the corner of her eye, Vanellope began slowly edging towards the spot where it lay.

"Of course," Vermis continued, "I expect you won't be coping very well at all. Especially after I've killed all your other friends, too." He paused. "Which should be soon enough now," he added after a moment.

Vanellope triggered her power once again, landing a few feet from the bag. She dove for it and seized it in both hands. She had enough energy for one more leap, and she used it to escape a sudden lunge from Vermis. Rummaging hurriedly in the bag, her fingers closed around a fat tube. She withdrew it and saw that it was labeled: _Antivirus_. It was like an injection device, with a needle tip poking from the narrow end and a button on the other end. She spun to face Vermis, who had arrived in front of her. Vermis saw the tube and froze. Seizing her chance, Vanellope dashed towards his belly and injected the full contents of the tube into him.

"Vermis," she said, "You're deleted."

Vermis shuddered. And then he shrieked, as the anti-virus flooded through his body. Rearing up on his four rearmost legs, he skittered backwards, away from Vanellope, who stood up and observed him carefully.

Vermis stopped moving. He breathed heavily as his body was ravaged from the inside out by the anti-virus. He glared at Vanellope. "I _hate_ you!" he cried, his voice ragged and shrill. " _Curse_ you, you little…" He gasped. And then he laughed. "At least I got to hurt you. No, fatally wound you. Ralph will die. And there's nothing you can do to save him. Nothing at all."

Vermis made a strangled, choking sound as he began to fragment, and then to dissolve. After a few more moments, he was nothing but sickly green dust. And moments after that, even the dust had faded away.

* * *

…And as soon as they had broken through the barrier, the possessed NPCs stopped dead in their tracks. As Calhoun and the others eyed them with a mixture of fear and curiosity, they began to shudder. The green glow faded from their eyes as they collapsed, now nothing but hollowed out shells of characters.

* * *

Vanellope dropped the tube and hurried towards where Ralph was lying flat on his back, his arms hanging limply at his sides. "Ralph!" she cried. "Ralph!"

Ralph coughed weakly. "Help me up," he said, his voice quiet.

"But your wound…" Vanellope glanced at the awful gash in his stomach.

"Help an old friend up, will you?" Ralph said again.

Gale had arrived beside them at that moment. He gestured to a nearby crate, and then he and Vanellope helped Ralph inch towards the crate until his back was resting against it.

"Gale," Ralph said, "tell the others…thanks for everything. And tell them…I'm sorry…I couldn't go back with them."

"I will," Gale said.

"What do you mean?" Vanellope said, trying and failing to smile through her tears. "We're gonna fix you."

"Vanellope…" Ralph said. "I'm dying."

"No, _no_!" Vanellope cried. "You're not dying! You're _not_!"

"I can't…help it," Ralph said. "Please, I don't have…much time. Get the medal…out of my shirt."

Vanellope reached gently towards Ralph's collar. She pulled the cookie medal out. The words _You're my Hero_ were facing outwards, towards her.

"Take it," said Ralph. "Keep it."

"I can't take this," Vanellope protested. "I'm not a hero."

"You are…to me."

Slowly, gingerly, Vanellope took the medal from around Ralph's neck.

"Vanellope," Ralph said after a moment, "can I ask you…something selfish?"

"Anything, Ralph."

"Would you please…smile for me? I want to see…your smile…one more time."

This time, despite her tears, Vanellope smiled warmly. Ralph smiled in return.

"Ralph?" Vanellope said after a minute. "Ralph?"

Ralph was still smiling. But he did not reply.

"Ralph?" Vanellope's eyes welled with fresh tears. She dropped to her knees in front her dead friend's body, sobbing brokenly.

* * *

 **I'm not usually given to writing author's notes in the middle of a story, but I feel I should add one here.**

 **Yes, I've killed off Wreck-It Ralph, and he's not coming back. It was not an easy choice to make, but it was what the narrative required in order to be effective. Please bear with me, if you will. This story is not over by any means. Several more updates are coming. The fight with Vermis, while important, is not the true climax of this fic. The climax is still upcoming. This story isn't meant to be primarily a thriller, the action-packed middle notwithstanding. It was always planned to be about something more than that, and I hope the remainder will make that clear in an effective manner.**


	27. Chapter 26

**Chapter Twenty-Six:**

 **A Death in the Family**

Sergeant Calhoun surveyed the bodies. "All dead," she said after moment. Gene, Felix, and the racers gathered around her. "It means they did it. The virus is gone."

"So why does something feel…wrong?" Taffyta asked.

Calhoun gave her a sharp glance. "You felt it too?"

"I think we all did," said Felix.

Calhoun stared through the archway of the gate at the fields beyond. She then turned and gestured to the others. "Follow me, to the town, all of you," she said. "Quietly, but quickly."

* * *

Vanellope felt a pair of arms wrap gently around her body. She instinctively lashed out, trying to shove them away, but the arms gripped her more tightly.

"Vanellope," Gale said gently. "Stay with me."

Vanellope wrenched herself out of his grasp and continued crying.

"Vanellope," Gale said, his voice hoarse. "I'm sorry."

Vanellope turned to see that Gale was also crying.

At that moment, Calhoun, Felix, Gene, and the racers arrived. They stopped in their tracks at the sight before them.

"Oh no…" Calhoun breathed.

Vanellope turned to the others, none of whom were dry-eyed. Her gaze eventually fell upon the hammer at Felix's side. "Your hammer!" she said. "Give it to me!"

Felix shook his head sadly. "It doesn't work like that."

"But it fixes injuries!" she protested.

"Not even my hammer can fix this," said Felix.

Vanellope dropped to her knees once again. "But you can fix anything…" she whispered.

Felix came forward slowly and knelt in front of her. "Vanellope," he said, "I'm sorry. I can't fix death."

He hugged her tightly, letting her cry into his shoulder for a long time.

* * *

At the last, when she had cried until she could cry no longer, Vanellope crawled out of Felix's arms. She watched as Calhoun stepped forward towards Ralph's body, reach out, and close his eyelids. "Farewell, soldier," she said. Then she turned back to Vanellope. "We'll take him back to the arcade. If it's alright with you, Vanellope…I think we should bury him in your game."

Vanellope nodded. "In the peppermint forest. Where we first met."

"What about this game?" Gene asked. "What happens to _Cannonshot_?"

"Too much code has been lost," said Gale. "It won't survive- not now. But if there are any characters left, I'll find them and get them out safely. And then…then I'll join you back at the arcade for a short while, if…if I may."

"Of course you can," said Felix.

"Felix," Gale continued, "He told me to tell all of you…'thanks for everything'. And that he was sorry he couldn't return."

Despite his sorrow, Felix couldn't help but smile ever so slightly. "We're the ones who should be thanking him," he said, shaking his head.

"We'd better find a way to…to carry him back," said Gene.

"I have a big hoversled," said Gale. "I can be back with it in twenty minutes." He started to leave, and then paused as he caught sight of Vanellope looking at him. A moment later, she threw her arms around him. He bent over and hugged her back, then stood up and tried to leave. She wouldn't let go.

"Vanellope," he said, "I have to go. But I'll be back soon."

Still, Vanellope wouldn't let go.

"Vanellope," Gale said gently, "I know you're hurting. You're going to be hurting for a long time. But you don't have to bear it alone."

Vanellope's grip tightened.

"Vanellope," Gale said firmly. "I'm not going to die. I'm coming back. You _will_ see me again."

Slowly, Vanellope loosened her grip. After a minute, she let go entirely. Gale gave her one quick hug before he once again turned to leave.

* * *

Johnson had given up on pacing nervously back and forth, and had plopped his tensed up body into one of the chairs in front of the _Sugar Rush_ cabinet. He wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting there when Otis floated into view.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Vanellope and the racers are safe, thank the developers," said Otis. "But…"

Although Otis had no face, Johnson could tell from his tone that something was wrong, despite this good news.

"What is it?" he asked. "What's happened?"

"Ralph's dead."

Johnson felt as though a sudden weight had descended on his shoulders. "What?" he said, leaning towards the screen.

"He was…killed," said Otis. "We don't have all the details yet, but…it was definitely a virus that was after Vanellope. They destroyed the virus, but…Ralph didn't make it."

Johnson leaned back in his seat, feeling suddenly numb. He knew this meant the end of _Fix-It Felix Jr._ 's presence in the arcade, but it wasn't the businessman in him who was reacting. It was the rest of him.

 _I hadn't realized it until now_ , he mused, _but after the past year…I could almost call him a friend._

"Whatever am I going to tell Stan?" he said quietly.

"Litwak?" said Otis. "Give it to him straight. I know…I know it'll hurt him as much as it hurts us. But he needs to know."

"I'm going to get a bite to eat," said Johnson, standing up slowly. "I'll be back in a couple of hours. Just make sure they all get back safely, okay?"

"We'll take care of it," Otis replied. "When you talk to Litwak, tell him…" Otis paused for a moment, then added: "Look, I know he doesn't get out too much anymore, but I hope he can stop by sometime."

"I expect he'll want to, as soon as he can," Johnson said.

* * *

Gale returned with the hoversled within twenty minutes, which he helped Calhoun and Felix load Ralph's body onto. He then handed a map to Felix, which he had also brought back with him. "Quickest way back to the arcade," he said. "I need to scour this game for any survivors. But I'll be back with you within a day, I expect." He shook hands with each of them, before turning to the racers, all of whom looked miserable.

"Do not blame yourselves," he said. "None of this was your fault. It was the virus, and him only."

He gave each of them a hug in turn. Then, turning to Vanellope, who was staring at Ralph's body, he laid a hand on her shoulder. "I'll be with you by tomorrow at the latest," he said.

She turned to face him, but said nothing.

"You're not alone," he said. "You'll never be alone."

"That's what Ralph said," Vanellope said. "And now he's…"

As she started to cry once more, Gale hugged her yet again.

"I can't replace Ralph," he said quietly. "No one can. But we're here for you…all of us." He let her go, and gestured to the hoversled. "Now go," he said. "Take him home."


	28. Chapter 27

**Chapter Twenty-Seven:**

 **Goodbye to Niceland**

Ralph was buried in a small clearing in the peppermint forest, not far from the tree he had landed in more than ten years before, on the day he had crashed the shuttle within _Sugar Rush_. For several hours, various characters who had known him passed by the graveside slowly, some teary-eyed, others more solemn-faced. Even the Surge Protector took the time to materialize inside the game, for as long as he possibly could. Throughout it all, Vanellope sat quietly on a small gumdrop a way distant, observing them. She said nothing at all, simply stared numbly. Even when the characters were gone and the gravesite was empty once again, she continued to sit, staring at the simple carved tombstone. It wasn't until she heard Gale's voice behind her that she turned herself around.

"Vanellope," he said. "You've been sitting there for hours."

Vanellope stared at Gale blankly, saying nothing.

"Felix and the Sarge are in Ralph's old apartment. They need to talk to you."

Vanellope continued to stare blankly.

"Vanellope," said Gale, "this is important. Besides, I think you'll want to visit Niceland one last time before _Fix-It Felix Jr._ gets unplugged."

Vanellope stood up and slowly began to head for the wire exit of _Sugar Rush_.

"I'll wait here then, shall I?" said Gale.

* * *

Vanellope entered _Fix-It Felix Jr._ half in a daze. It took her at least a minute to feel fully cognizant of her surroundings. And that only made her feel all the number and emptier. Still, she wandered slowly in the direction of Ralph's house. At the door, she hesitated for a moment, before finally pushing it open.

Inside, she saw Calhoun and Felix, seated on the couch. "Come in, Vanellope," Felix said.

"Please sit," Calhoun said, gesturing to a stool opposite the couch. Without a word, Vanellope did so.

"Ralph didn't have a will or anything," Felix said. "He didn't own much, either. We've distributed most of what little he had to his various friends. We just need to find a home for the pictures you drew for him."

At the mention of the pictures, Vanellope smiled ruefully for the briefest moment. "He knew they were crap," she said. "But he kept them anyway."

"He didn't think anything you gave him was trash," Felix said firmly. "It didn't matter what the quality was. He loved those pictures."

"I refuse to have the thrown away," Calhoun said. "Can you give them a good home?"

Vanellope nodded. "The castle has a bit of space."

"I'll have them delivered shortly, then," said Calhoun.

They were silent for a moment, before Felix said: "I understand he gave you the cookie medal."

"Yes," Vanellope said. "Its in my cabinet." She blinked, then said in a hoarse voice: "But I'm not a hero like he was."

"Ralph thought you were," Felix replied. "And so do Tamora and I."

Vanellope stared at the floor.

"There's more than one kind of hero," Calhoun said. "Heroism isn't just flashy deeds and blazing guns. Sometimes, a hero is someone who endures, who thrives despite all the pain, the tragedy, the hardship. A hero is the one who keeps on going."

"I've only kept going because of my friends," Vanellope said. "Now Ralph's gone…and how long before the rest of you are, too?"

"We're here for you _right now_ ," Calhoun said. "You can't spend your whole life worrying about what _might_ happen. You'd have no time to focus on what _is_ happening."

"The arcade is going to be reopening soon," said Felix. "The gamers are going to need you."

"I can't race," Vanellope said. "At least…not for a while."

"Sour Bill can set the randomizer to exclude you for a time," said Felix. "But you'll still need to do the cutscenes."

"I suppose I can do that."

"Look, Vanellope," Calhoun said. "The point is: your life is going to go on. And…your auntie can't stand seeing you give up. Not now."

Vanellope raised her head.

"Yeah, I actually don't mind," Calhoun said. "Not really. You can call me that if you want."

"Vanellope," Felix said. "Please…please don't think we're being callous. We know this is going to be hard. It's just…we know you have it in you not to lose."

"But I don't know if I have it in me," Vanellope replied. "N-not any m-more," she stammered as she started to cry. This time, it was Calhoun who embraced her for a long while.

"Let it out, my brave girl," she said quietly. "Let it out. It's alright to grieve."

Vanellope threw her little arms around the sergeant as far as she could and gripped her tightly.

"Let it out," Calhoun whispered. "Let it out."

* * *

Vanellope slid out of Calhoun's arms and straightened herself on the stool. Drying her eyes on her sleeve, she said: "I…thanks."

"You _can_ keep going," Calhoun said, returning to her seat on the couch.

"Not on my own," Vanellope said.

"You're _not_ alone," Calhoun replied. "A whole lot of people are behind you, rooting for you to succeed. The choice of where to go from here is yours. But you're not alone."

"I'll be in _Hero's Duty_ now, living in the barracks," said Felix. "You need Tamora and I, you know where we are."

"Thanks," said Vanellope. She stood up to leave.

"Vanellope," Felix said, "just a moment."

She paused. "Yes?"

"I don't know if Gale told you, but he found the surviving characters in _Cannonshot_ and got them to safety. They're going to be alright."

"He hadn't said anything," Vanellope replied. "That's good to hear. I'm glad."

* * *

Vanellope exited Ralph's apartment and began to walk down the empty street.

She didn't doubt the steadfastness of Felix and Calhoun, or of any of her other friends. Yet she still felt somewhat…rudderless. For more than ten years, Ralph had been a constant presence in her life. Now, with him gone…

"Not so easy, is it?" a rasping voiced hissed in her ear.

Vanellope spun about. In the shadows of an alleyway between two buildings, a pair of glowing green eyes were observing her.

"You're dead," she said. "I deleted you."

"From life, yes," Vermis said. "But not from your memories. You may have killed me. But in the end, I still beat you."

"You're not in charge of my life," Vanellope snapped.

"Oh?" Vermis said. The eyes narrowed. "Then why can't you stop thinking about me?"

Vanellope said nothing.

"Is it because I'm the one who did the deed?" Vermis said. "Ralph's code was _exquisite_ , by the way. I regret I didn't get to eat more of it."

"Shut up," Vanellope said through gritted teeth.

"The sergeant was right about one thing, you know," Vermis said. "The choice of where to go from here is yours. But you and I both know that the only place you'll be going is down."

"Go away," said Vanellope, her eyes filling with tears yet again.

"Then _make_ me go away," Vermis hissed.

Vanellope stared at the glowing eyes for a long moment. Then, abruptly, she turned and ran towards the carts that would take her out of the game, with Vermis's mocking laughter ringing in her ears.


	29. Chapter 28

**Chapter Twenty-Eight:**

 **Taffyta's Remorse**

Taffyta Muttonfudge had been silent all the way back to the arcade, as had all the other racers. With Ralph's death, a gloom seemed to have settled over all of them. When they had returned, Surge had looked at them. But he had said nothing, and neither had they.

When Ralph had been buried, Taffyta had lingered for a short while. Then she had headed for Diet Cola Mountain to sit there alone, with her thoughts.

 _I just wanted to help my friend…but I did nothing. Nothing. All I did was a become a burden and make everyone worry. Now Ralph's dead, and poor Vanellope's coming apart. And…_

She sighed and stared at the ground.

 _Was I a bad friend? Did I just-_

"Thought we'd find you here," said an ethereal voice. Taffyta looked up to see Otis and Floyd floating a short distance from her.

"I'm so sorry," she said. "What I did was selfish, irresponsible…I'm so sorry."

"We talked it over with the other racers already," Floyd replied. "What you all did was definitely irresponsible. But selfish? I don't know about that."

"You wanted to help Vanellope because she's your friend and she was in danger," Otis added. "That's the definition of being selfless. You just…didn't think about how you could help her best."

"But that's the past," said Floyd. "The present is here now, and…Vanellope's going to need you now. She's going to need _all_ her friends."

"I didn't know Ralph the way she did," said Taffyta. "But still…he was always there. And now he's just…gone."

"No one's ever really gone, kid," said Floyd. "Not when they've left as big a mark on this arcade as that big lump did."

"He's the reason I have my memories back in the first place," said Taffyta.

"And you don't need to atone anymore," said Otis.

Taffyta jolted. "What?"

"You racers are open books to us," said Floyd. "Even the quieter ones like you. You think you still need to make up for bullying Vanellope? Forget it, because you did that so long ago it feels like an age."

"You can forgive yourself," said Otis. "Vanellope did years ago, and so did everyone else."

Taffyta smiled. "Thanks, guys," she said. "I'll try."

"Remember what the long-eared, green weirdo on the internet said," Floyd replied. "Do, or do not. There is no try."

"Then I'll do it," said Taffyta, standing up. She headed towards the exit.

"Where you headed?" Otis asked.

"I've one more conversation to have," Taffyta called over her shoulder as she left.

* * *

As Taffyta entered the plughole in the power strip which _Sugar Rush_ was plugged into, she stopped. The Surge Protector was there, eyeing the various bits of graffiti on the walls. Having heard her footsteps, he turned.

"More than ten years since old Ralph went barreling into here," he said. "Wasn't much I could do, then. Had to let the Sarge and Felix go in, take care of it. Then Ralph saved us all, and…" He blinked. "I miss the guy is all."

"So do I," said Taffyta.

They both were silent for a few moments. Then Taffyta spoke up again.

"I'm ready," she said.

"Ready for what?" Surge asked.

"Ready to own up to my own irresponsibility," said Taffyta. "I made you worry by running away. I let you down. I'll take whatever punishment you give me."

"Haven't we all been punished enough?" said Surge.

"What?"

"That you can even say what you just told me is proof enough you've learned your lesson," said Surge. "I've no punishment to give. We've all of us enough to bear as it is. I'm just…glad that you and the other racers are safe."

Taffyta started to step forward, then stopped, hesitating. "Can- can I ask you something?" she said.

"What is it?"

"Can I give you a hug?"

"Might tingle a bit," Surge said. "But sure, why not?"

Taffyta flung her arms around the Surge Protector's blue form. Sure enough, it tingled- stung even. But she didn't mind.

"Thanks for all your help," Taffyta said, letting him go.

Surge reached a finger up to the corner of one eye and retrieved a particle of what looked like liquid. He examined it closely.

"Oh," he said. "Wasn't expecting that." He lowered his hand. Then he flashed a quick smile- small enough, but nevertheless the broadest one Taffyta has ever seen him give.

"Not just a soulless machine after all," he said.

"You were always more than that," Taffyta replied.

* * *

When Taffyta returned, she headed straight for the small cluster of homes where the racers lived. On the way, as she passed through the peppermint forest, she saw Vanellope heading towards the wire exit. Her fellow racer gave no indication of having noticed her, instead keeping her eyes firmly fixed forward.

"Let her go for now," she heard Gale's voice say. "When she's back, though…better look out for her."

Taffyta turned to see the harlequin-suited character standing a short distance away.

"I've seen the other racers," he said. "I know this will take time. But I think they're going to be alright."

"I know we will be," Taffyta replied. "It's Vanellope I'm worried about. She barely talks…barely even moves. Its like she's hardly even here. It…it hurts to watch."

"Which is why you need to be there for her," said Gale. "Why we _all_ need to be there for her. If she tries to go at this alone, she'll fail. But she's not alone. Deep down, she knows it. But I think she'll need help _feeling_ it, if that makes sense."

"It does," said Taffyta.

"I'll try and come here once a week," said Gale. "Meantime, you have my phone number. Call me if you need anything."

"You leaving right now?" Taffyta asked him.

"Not for another couple of hours," Gale replied. "But I'm going to wait here for Vanellope to get back."

"I'll check in on the racers," said Taffyta. "When she's back, I'll…see what I can do."


	30. Chapter 29

**Chapter Twenty-Nine:**

 **In a Funk**

When Vanellope returned to _Sugar Rush_ , she found Gale waiting for her.

"Take care of what you needed to?" he asked her.

She nodded.

"Good," he said. Then, observing her pained and fearful expression, he added: "What happened?"

"I just can't win," Vanellope said. "I even killed him, and I still couldn't beat him."

"The virus?"

Vanellope averted her eyes from Gale's gaze.

"Vanellope," Gale said. "My brave little friend- with all the resources you have, I think you'll find that you _can_ win." He kissed the top of her head, and then gave her a quick hug. "I'll be here every week," he said. "Listen for my signal."

Vanellope watched him go and then headed slowly for the castle.

* * *

Mr. Johnson unplugged _Fix-It Felix Jr._ on Sunday evening. He made sure that every single game character had exited first, and that they had all found new games to live in, before pulling the cord from the power strip. He then had the cabinet brought towards the arcade's front entrance, to be hauled away the following morning.

Vanellope had gone to the game one last time, to have a final walk through the old penthouse. She had then headed straight to _Tapper's_ and ordered the largest mug of root beer she could find on the menu. R. B. had looked at her dubiously, but when she had produced the payment, he had served her- albeit with visible reluctance.

Now, with the contents of the mug half gone, she was already starting to feel…off. So much so, that she failed to notice Gene sit down beside her until he waved a hand in front of her face.

"Uh…Mishter Mayor!" she stammered. "Didn't…didn't exshpect to see you here."

"I could say the same about you," Gene replied. He pushed the mug of root beer away from her.

"But I didn't finishit…" Vanellope said.

"I think you're finished here, Vanellope," Gene said. "You'd better come with me."

"Go with him," R.B. said to Vanellope. "It's alright."

Vanellope stood up- and stumbled. Gene caught her quickly, and then began to help her towards the exit. "Here, lean on me," he said. "I'll help you out of here."

* * *

Gene brought Vanellope back to the castle within _Sugar Rush_ , and then up to her bedroom. After placing her upon her bed, he closed the door, pulled a chair over beside the bed, and seated himself.

"I hate to see you like this," he said. "Is there anything I can do?"

Vanellope shook her head. "Jusht let me…let me be."

"Plainly, that's _not_ what you need," Gene replied.

Vanellope stared at him vacantly for a moment, before asking: "Where you living now?"

"Over in _The Scarlet Pimpernel_ ," said Gene. "Sir Percy is a kind neighbor. Elegant, refined, a perfect gentleman. Full of life. I'm going to be alright there."

"He ish full of life," said Vanellope. "I wish I could be, too."

"Maybe racing again will help," said Gene.

"I'm not gonna race," Vanellope said. "Not for a while. Jusht cutshenes for now."

"Oh." Gene blinked. "Vanellope…I don't know if that's a good idea, but…alright."

"Green eyesh," Vanellope said. "They won't go away. Hish eyes."

"Vermis is dead," Gene replied. "He can't hurt you anymore."

"He shaid…he shaid he'sh in my memoriesh…"

Vanellope's eyelids began to flutter.

"Your memories?" Gene said. "Vanellope, remember this: you're my family."

She looked at Gene.

"Look," said Gene, fingering the flower in his lapel. "I know we don't have a lot in common, but…Ralph chose his friend well. And if you hadn't helped him, I might still be a jerk. So…in a way, you helped me, too."

"Th-thanksh, Gene," Vanellope said. "You're not sho bad…yourshelf…"

Vanellope's eyelids finally closed. Glancing towards her, Gene saw that she had fallen asleep sitting up. Gently, he laid her down on the bed. Then he left the room, shutting the door behind him as quietly as he could.

* * *

"Look," said Dr. Despair, fingering the ornamented head of his cane, "Why do you need me to tell you the obvious?"

Vanellope sat down cross-legged on the grassy knoll. Setting her hands on her knees, she said: "But I'm responsible! I'm the one who wanted to go to the internet. If I hadn't arranged that trip, I'd never have gotten lost, and…"

"And then Vermis would have activated your glitching in the arcade and taken you to the internet anyway. However you slice it, it was him, and him alone. You are _not_ responsible."

Vanellope sighed and leaned backwards. "You're right," she said. "But still…I wanted memories to bring back to the arcade, but not…not this." She sniffed. "This wasn't an adventure. It was a nightmare."

"You've lived through nightmares before," said Dr. Despair.

"Yeah, but with Ralph's help!" Vanellope snapped. "Ralph's dead! Do you hear me? He's dead! Dead, dead, dead!"

* * *

Vanellope's eyes snapped open. She shifted to one side. Sour Bill was there on the chair beside her, eyeing her, his expression impassive.

"You were talking in your sleep," he said.

Vanellope sat up. "And apparently, I slept in my clothes," she said.

"Nearly the whole night," said Sour Bill. "The arcade opens in an hour. Your dress is hanging up, waiting for you." He observed Vanellope's facial expression. "And if you need to vomit first, you know where the toilet is."

* * *

By the time the arcade's Christmas Break had arrived, Vanellope had still not raced- had not so much as set foot in a kart. She had done her duty by playing the part of princess in the cutscenes. But however hard she had tried to make her smiles seem real, they were always forced. Even the gamers had noticed it.

"Mr. Johnson," she heard one little girl say on the last day before the arcade closed, "why does Vanellope look so sad lately?"

"I don't know," Mr. Johnson had said, as neutrally as he could manage.

"I know its just a game," the girl has replied. "But every time I saw her, I wanted to give her a hug. And I miss racing as her. I hope the game chooses her again soon for the roster."

When the arcade closed, Johnson approached the _Sugar Rush_ cabinets. "Vanellope?" he said. "I need to talk to you."

Vanellope heard him, and wandered in front of one of the cameras, letting him see her close-up.

"Vanellope," Johnson said. "How much longer before you have Sour Bill let the game choose you again for the roster?"

Vanellope frowned. "I'm sorry, I just…"

"I've talked with your friends," Johnson said. "They're really worried about you. You're barely eating, you're hardly talking. You don't seem to take pleasure in anything anymore."

Vanellope sighed. "I know they're all there for me. They've been beyond kind. But I…"

"Its okay to miss Ralph," said Johnson. "Its okay to mourn his loss. But it feels like you're giving up." He paused, before adding: "If you never race again, then Ralph died for nothing."

Vanellope started. "Ralph's the one who gave me a shot at racing in the first place," she said. "Every time I even think of getting in a kart, though..."

"Yes?" said Johnson. "You think of him, don't you? Why don't you use that?"

Vanellope's eyes widened.

"Yes, you know what I'm saying," Johnson went on. "Racing gave you joy, right? Ralph only ever wanted joy for you."

Slowly, Vanellope began to smile. It was a faint smile, but it was a smile nonetheless.

"Yes," she said. "He did." She blinked back more tears. But this time, she retained her smile. "After the break…I'll start racing again."

"That's my girl," said Johnson. He stood up from the seat. "Oh, by the way," he added as he was about to go, "Stan's going to drop in tomorrow morning. He wants to talk with you."


	31. Chapter 30

**Chapter Thirty:**

 **Legacy**

"Mr. Litwak?" Vanellope asked. "He wants to talk to me?"

"Well yeah," said Johnson. "He's worried about you."

"Tell him I'll talk to him any time, then," said Vanellope.

"First thing in the morning, then," Johnson replied, "he'll be here."

As Johnson left, Vanellope stepped away from the camera. She headed for a nearby jawbreaker, which she perched herself atop.

Mr. Litwak had already come by once, a week after Ralph's death. They had said little to each other then- she had let him spend more time with the other characters then. But despite her depression, some small part of her had lit up with momentary pleasure at the sight of him. She liked Mr. Johnson, respected him tremendously. But she still missed seeing Litwak every business day. Though she had only really gotten to _know_ the man during the last five years of his tenure as arcade owner, after he had learned of their secret sentience, she had observed him carefully for longer than that. If there was one word to describe the man, it was "genuine." You always knew where you stood with him.

 _He's coming tomorrow morning…just for me._

Vanellope began to cry again, but how much of it was sorrow and how much was joy, she wasn't sure.

* * *

Mr. Litwak arrived at about eight o'clock the next morning. Vanellope, who was up by then, arranged for one of the floating cameras of _Sugar Rush_ to be placed inside her bedroom, and had the screen of the right cabinet zero in on it, so they could talk with relative privacy.

Mr. Litwak still had his moustache, which had gone completely grey, but his hair was now thin and receding. He moved more slowly than before, using a cane for support. As he lowered himself into the chair, he sighed briefly.

"Gives me a chance to rest my aching bones," he said, smiling at Vanellope.

"You wanted to see me?" she asked.

"I did," said Mr. Litwak. "How are you holding up?"

"You must already know," Vanellope replied. "Not…not too well. But I am going to start racing again."

"That's good," said Mr. Litwak. "I'm told the gamers miss you already."

They both were silent for a long moment.

"Vanellope," Mr. Litwak said, "you might not believe it, but a part of me envies you."

"You… _envy_ me?" Vanellope blinked. "Whatever for?"

"When Ralph died…you got to be there for him. You were there in his last moments."

Vanellope looked away from the camera, but Mr. Litwak said: "I know you're crying. You don't need to hide it."

Vanellope turned back to the camera. Letting the tears fall, she said: "You didn't see him! The wound…the blood…"

"No," Mr. Litwak said quietly. "I didn't see him. I didn't see my best friend die, either."

"Wha-what do you mean?" Vanellope said.

"You know I wasn't there when Albert was in the car crash out in California," Mr. Litwak said. "I wasn't there when he died in the hospital. I never got to say goodbye."

"You knew he loved you," said Vanellope. "You were on good terms."

"Yes, I know," said Mr. Litwak. "But still…I never got to say goodbye like you did."

"There wasn't a lot of time," said Vanellope. "He was dead in a few minutes."

"A few minutes is more time than none at all," Mr. Litwak replied. When Vanellope didn't answer, he continued:

"My girl," he said, "as ever, you're so quick to try and comfort someone else, but you won't see the blessings _you_ have."

"What blessings?" Vanellope exclaimed. "What blessings? All my life, I've been dogged by villain after villain, hounded by evil. I've been beaten, bullied, tortured, imprisoned, possessed! And all for what? For what? Now, Ralph's dead, and he was the only reason I ever had any hope at all." She paused, before adding: "Why? You tell me! Why?"

"Do your friendships really mean so little to you?"

Vanellope blinked. "You know they mean everything to me."

"And you say you have no hope."

Vanellope started to reply, then stopped.

"Ralph was an important catalyst for you," Mr. Litwak said. "He saved you from Turbo, he helped you through so much. He gave you access to a world where you could forge so many friendships, where you could learn, grow, mature. He may be dead, but his legacy lives on in so many ways, through so many people- including you."

"I…know?" Vanellope wiped fresh tears from her eyes. "I know, but…why couldn't I feel it?"

"Grieving a dead friend is normal," said Mr. Litwak. "But if we let our grief consume us, it can blind us to what we still have.'

'I don't know why you were made to suffer so much. But I do know that you emerged from every trial wiser, more mature. Ralph was proud of you for that. He told me so, more than once."

Vanellope smiled ruefully. "I guess he got through to you better than he did to me."

"He called you his best friend," Mr. Litwak said. "But honestly, in the end, I wonder if what he really considered you was his daughter."

"Ralph, my father?" Vanellope looked thoughtful. "I guess, in a way…he was."

"For us humans, there always comes a time when we say goodbye to our mentors," said Mr. Litwak. "My mother and my father died many years ago now. I'm older now, sixty-six. I've no children of my own, no siblings. When I die, my family line will come to an end. I hope I've left enough of a legacy to last beyond my lifetime, even if my branch of the Litwak family tree is fated to wither. But Ralph…I know he's left a legacy. And you're the greater part of it."

Vanellope smiled through her tears yet again. "You're very kind."

"I'm just making an observation," said Mr. Litwak.

"Now you're the one not noticing his blessings," said Vanellope. "Isn't this arcade part of your legacy? And what about _your_ friends?"

Mr. Litwak laughed. "Vanellope," he said, "you have a good heart."

"I try," she said. "I know I mess up sometimes, but I always keep trying."

"And there you have your answer," said Mr. Litwak, his expression serious once more. "You don't give up. Ralph may be dead, but he's not gone. He's never gone. You'll always have him- just like you'll always have all your friends, no matter what the future brings. And so long as you have them, you'll never have a reason to give up."

"You're right," Vanellope said. "I couldn't admit it before, but…you're right." She blinked back more tears. "Still…it hurts, not being able to see him anymore."

"The pain of a friend's death never really goes away entirely," said Mr. Litwak. "But time and wisdom temper it with joy over having had them in your life." He reached for his cane and stood up. "And who knows," he added, gesturing towards the arcade door. "When all of this is over- when suffering is replaced by joy, and all of this is renewed- maybe then, you will see him again."

"You really think so?" Vanellope asked.

"I can't say," Mr. Litwak replied. "But I pray God it is so." He gave her one last smile. "Be at peace, Vanellope."


	32. Chapter 31

**Chapter Thirty-One:**

 **The Final Battle**

The sky overhead was blue as the afternoon when Ralph had died when Vanellope saw Vermis scuttle onto the hilltop. He was as she had last seen him in life: pitch black, save for his glowing green eyes, the bleeding stump where his tail had been severed, and the crimson blood staining his frontmost right pincer-like hand.

Ralph's blood.

Vanellope stood her ground, even though she shuddered visibly at his approach. Vermis noticed this and laughed.

"Nice attempt at a front," he said, "but you can't deceive me, my dear." He held out his two front claws and spread them wide. "Come here, dearest Vanellope. Come to daddy!"

"I have a father," Vanellope said, her tone firmer than she had been expecting. "And he isn't you."

Vermis dropped his claws. "What?" he said flatly.

"I believe you heard her," Dr. Despair said, approaching from the side.

Vanellope turned. "You're here?"

"I wouldn't want to miss _this_ moment for anything," Dr. Despair said. Then he turned to Vermis, leaving his back to Vanellope. "By the way, just thought I'd tell you that I find you beneath contempt- you hideous freak!"

"Hideous?" Vermis spat. "Says the man who hides his face behind a mask!"

Dr. Despair tossed aside his cane. Then he reached behind his head and undid a pair of straps. He pulled the mask from his face just long enough for the virus to see what lay underneath. Then he put the mask back on and retrieved his cane.

"That meant nothing to me," Vermis said, though Vanellope could tell from his voice that he had been surprised by whatever he had seen.

"No, I wouldn't expect it would," Dr. Despair replied. "For all your trickery, you don't seem to care that appearances other than your own can be deceiving. You have no idea who you're facing."

"I don't give a farthing about you!" Vermis snapped.

"I wasn't talking about myself," Dr. Despair said, stepping aside and gesturing to Vanellope. Turning to look at her, he said: "This is your fight. Finish it."

"Finish it? Finish it?" Vermis lunged forward, grabbing Vanellope in his bloodstained claw before she could react. He backed away from Dr. Despair towards the top of the hill and held her up in front of his face. "The only thing she'll be finishing is clinging to whatever hope she has left!" He gave a deranged laugh. "I underestimate _no one_ , little girl! I've taken the measure of your power, and found you wanting. I ripped out a chunk of your heart like I was snapping a twig. You can't forget Ralph's death, so you can't forget me! You can't move on."

"No," Vanellope said quietly. "I can't forget it." She met Vermis's gaze. "But I _can_ move on."

Vermis blinked. "Ralph is gone."

"Ralph's not gone," Vanellope replied. "You took his life, but you could never take his memory or his soul."

Vermis said nothing. Emboldened by his silence, Vanellope went on: "You couldn't take them when you were alive. You can't take them now as a ghost, a hallucination, or whatever the Twix you are." She paused, before adding: "Just like you can't take me."

"I take what I want!" Vermis snapped.

"No, you don't," Vanellope replied. "I'm still here. So are all my friends. You have nothing."

Vermis shuddered. His eyes widened in shock as his body began to dissolve. "Wh-what _are_ you?" he stammered.

"You already know," Vanellope said, smiling. "I'm Vanellope von Schweetz."

Vermis gave a strangled cry as his body finished dissolving. Free of his grasp, Vanellope dropped with a sudden jerk. She landed in Dr. Despair's outstretched arms.

"Got you," he said, setting her gently on the ground. Vanellope steadied herself and then turned to face him.

"I feel…light," she said.

Dr. Despair laughed softly. "You won."

"I had a lot of help," Vanellope said.

"I never said you didn't," Dr. Despair replied. He turned to leave but stopped when Vanellope said: "Wait!"

"Yes?" he said. "What is it?"

"Why was Vermis surprised by your face?"

"You kept my mask," Dr. Despair said. "You know what I really look like."

"No, I don't," Vanellope said. "SANG torched your corpse and kept your mask as a trophy. It was all that was left of you when I found it."

Dr. Despair blinked. "Oh," he said. He set his cane aside once more, and then reached back to undo the straps of the mask. He lowered it from his face, revealing a face that didn't look a day over thirty. The red eyes were the only unusual aspect; the rest of Dr. Despair's face was exactly like a regular human. Wholly unblemished, a face of youthful manhood that was just crossing over into maturity.

Vanellope's jaw dropped. "You…you're…"

"What's the matter, Miss Schweetz?" Dr. Despair said, smirking. "Am I so devilishly handsome that you've lost your tongue?"

"Not the face I was expecting at all," Vanellope said.

"My mask never comes off in my game," Dr. Despair said, "so the developers were free to add whatever face they wanted." He chuckled. "I always figured maybe someone on the staff was way too into bishie comics, and then someone else made a few corrections to mitigate it." He held up the mask. "It was this thing that let me look intimidating. Well, that and the red eyes." He tossed the mask towards her, which Vanellope caught in her right hand. "But I suppose I've no further need to intimidate you."

Dr. Despair bent over, picked up his cane, and tucked it under his left arm. He tipped his hat and smiled. "Farewell, Vanellope von Schweetz," he said.

* * *

Vanellope blinked, and then rubbed her eyes with her left hand. She looked around to see that she was standing on the battlements atop the castle in _Sugar Rush_. It was still nighttime outside the game cabinet, in the human world. And in her right hand was Dr. Despair's mask.

She headed for the stairs that led back down into the castle. Through a corridor she went, until she reached her bedroom. She through open the doors of the cabinet, and the mask was not there. "Huh," she said, placing it back into its usual spot.

She caught sight of the cookie medal, hanging on its peg. She gazed at it for a long moment. Then she shut the cabinet, climbed into her bed, and pulled the soft covers over her body. She closed her eyes…

* * *

…If anyone had been present in the room at that moment, they would have seen the little racer fast asleep, her cheeks damp, and a warm, relaxed smile on her face.


	33. Chapter 32

**Chapter Thirty-Two:**

 **Thank You**

Vanellope woke up with light blazing in through her window. Sour Bill was there, perched atop a chair, observing her with his most perfectly neutral expression.

"So," he said. "Eleven-thirty in the morning and you're finally awake. About time."

She rubbed her eyes. "Really? That late?"

"If you'll get dressed," Sour Bill said, hopping down from the chair, "then you can come with me. I'll be outside the door." So saying, he exited the room, closing the door behind him.

Vanellope slid out of the covers and pulled her day clothes from her wardrobe. Heading behind a wooden screen, she changed into them and then headed into the hallway.

"What's this about?" she asked Sour Bill.

"Just follow me," the cough drop said, not looking at her.

Vanellope followed Sour Bill to the castle's large dining hall, where she stopped dead in her tracks.

The long table was laden with ridiculous amounts of food. Wynnchel, Duncan, and the racers were all there, together with the various members of Bad-Anon, as well as Felix, Calhoun, and all the soldiers from _Hero's Duty_. Off to one side, she could see Gene and the other Nicelanders, together with Q-Bert and crew. To another side, Otis and Floyd were stationed by a radio, together with Gale. As soon as Vanellope entered, the paddles floated towards her.

"Hope you're hungry, kid," Floyd said, "because we've all been slaving away all morning, getting this party ready."

"Guys!" Vanellope exclaimed staring in amazement, "Christmas isn't for another few days!"

"We'll celebrate Christmas on Christmas," Otis said. "This isn't about Christmas."

"Its about you, kid," Floyd added.

Vanellope's eyes widened. "Me?"

"You might not have noticed," Floyd said, "but a lot of people really like you. Way I see it, that's a good enough excuse."

"Anyway, you can blame the cough drop if you like," said Otis. "He's the one who suggested it."

Vanellope turned to Sour Bill. "You planned this?"

"I don't know what you mean," Sour Bill said, looking everywhere but at Vanellope.

Vanellope threw her arms around the cough drop and hugged him tightly.

"Oh…" Sour Bill muttered. "That's too tight…"

* * *

Hours later, her stomach fit to burst, Vanellope ambled slowly out of the castle, alone once more. She headed for the peppermint forest, not stopping until she was in front of Ralph's grave. There, she sat down crosslegged, and stared at the tombstone.

"Been a good day, I guess," she said after several minutes. "You'd have liked it, I think. Ton of fun.'

'I mean, I wish you could've been there. But…nah, maybe you were there after all, in a way. Still, would be nice to talk to you again." She blinked. "I mean, I am talking _to_ you…well, _at_ you. But, like, an actual conversation, you know?"

Vanellope smiled as the memories came flooding back.

"We had a ton of conversations, didn't we? Lot of adventures, too. Some of them were kind of fun. Maybe others…not so much."

Vanellope frowned for a moment, then let her expression relax. She was silent for several minutes, before continuing:

"Just over ten years. We had a good run didn't we? I mean, I know I got in your hair some." A rueful expression crossed her features. "Okay, fine. A lot. There was the taffy incident, the hair dresser, the noodles, the pool of icing…I could go on, for a while, couldn't I?" She grinned. "Now that I think about, I guess I was a big handful for you? But then, you had big hands, so maybe not a big problem for you. Well, not a _big_ problem."

Vanellope's grin faded.

"I can't say you never complained, 'cause you sure did. But you kept up with me anyhow, didn't you?"

She leaned back slightly.

"You were always there, huh? How many times did you save my life? Goodness, I can't even keep them straight it seems, you selfless stinkbrain, you.'

'You old son of a gun, how'd you even have time to think of yourself? You kept helping everyone else, you kept helping me…"

Vanellope's voice faded into a whisper, and then into silence as she gazed towards a peppermint tree not far away, above a green pool.

"Over there," she said after another minute. "The tree where my life changed. Good old tree. Good old medal." She snickered. "I was faster than you that day. I was always faster than you."

She turned back to the tombstone.

"I guess I kind of liked you from the moment I saw you. But yeah, I kind of used you at first. Sorry about that...'

'…I guess that's all the past. Kind of like that caffeinated soda. Gee, talk about me being a handful for you _then_." Vanellope laughed softly, even as the tears began to stream down her face.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is…I miss you, buddy. I don't think I'll ever stop missing you. But I'll come by and see you sometimes anyway, okay? I mean…"

She cleared her throat.

"Ralph," she said. "Thank you."

At that moment, Vanellope felt a large, heavy hand ruffle her hair briefly. "See you around, kid," a voice said in her ear.

She turned, but she couldn't see anyone.

Slowly, Vanellope climbed to her feet. Casting one last glance at the tombstone, she smiled. Then she turned and began to head back to the castle.


	34. Epilogue

**Epilogue:**

 **Extract from the Diary of the Surge Protector**

It's the new year. 2022 is gone, and 2023 is now upon us. I can scarcely believe that I -and this arcade- are still around after more than forty-three years. It really is stunning to contemplate. When so many other arcades have gone the way of the dodo, Litwak's still endures.

By the way, there's a new statue of Ralph in Game Central Station. Gale handcrafted it. I must say, he captured the guy perfectly. There he is, fists raised over his head, with the old sly smile on his face.

Vanellope, I'm happy to say, is doing well. She's back to racing, back to having fun. True, the loss of Ralph was a bitter blow for her. I doubt she'll ever really stop missing him. But she seems determined to keep moving forward, to bring as much joy into not only her own life, but the lives of others, as she possibly can. In way, its like the old lug lives on through her.

Maybe he lives on through all of us, really. The wrecker touched far more lives than he would've cared to admit. Maybe even more than he knew. So many barriers broken, so many friendships formed, so many hardships endured. And it all started because one game character got sick of getting yelled at and tried to get a medal to prove himself, only to learn what was _really_ important in life.

Funny how that works out.

Anyway, I'm signing out now. Mr. Johnson will be back in the morning, and we'll all have a long day's work ahead of us. I hear Mr. Litwak wants to pop in again too, wish us all a Happy New Year personally. A day late, of course, but better late than never. Besides, he had a little party of his own today he had to attend, and I can't exactly begrudge him that.

Until next time.

* * *

 **This story was four years in the planning, and marks the culmination of so much of what I started when I first began writing WiR fanfics back in 2013. Not saying there won't be more coming- I'm definitely planning on it. But this concludes the first "chapter" of my journey writing for this fandom, if that makes sense.**

 **I hope you've enjoyed it. I know it might've been a hard ride at points, not least because I had to kill off the wrecker himself. [That scene hurt to write.] But I hope the end result was as impactful for you to read as it was for me to write.**

 **As always, any and all feedback, whether positive, negative, or both, is welcome.**

 **Until next time,**

 **crankyman7**


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